LOST
by C.Sky
Summary: Rie Vricht is a childhood friend of Eren,Mikasa and Armin but ever since the Fall of Wall Maria,She's been missing..only to be found by the Survey Corps,killing titans off..with a gun!Now,The Survey Corps want Rie in their group.A cliched story of an Amnesiac Girl finding her memories but..it seems to be more than just a simple story.Rated T-because of cusses by mostly Levi and Rie
1. Chapter 1:Fall

I'm Rie Vricht. A Survey Corps soldier. ~ ahh , If I were to begin my story..

Then It would be that day.

The day where Everything changed.

* * *

"Rie! Breakfast!"

"Okay, Be there in a minute."

I shouted back to my sister. To be more clear, She's really not my sister. She adopted me when she found me , in front of her house ,unconscious when I was 9 years old. I'm currently 13 years old. It's been 4 years since she adopted me. Sometimes when I'm alone, thinking to myself, I always thought why my real family didn't come search for me but I'm already happy with my sister..With Angelica.

And I don't even know my real family. I have Amnesia. I can't recall my childhood. I mean, some memories of mine do show up but...I can't remember most of my childhood. I wonder what happened to make me have Amnesia.

I went down the stairs to eat my breakfast. As soon as I came down, Angelica greeted me with a smile and pulled a chair for me to sit in. We ate in silence but...

"Big Sis...Why are you staring at me?" I said as I halted my spoon from entering my mouth and laid it on my plate and looked at my sister.

"Well, It's just that you look especially nice. Are you going out to meet someone?" She smiled at me. I looked at her confused. _I did not do anything special with my appearance so what made her say that?_

"Uhm...Ah,yeah.I'm going out to see Mikasa , Eren and Armin too" I answered as I continued to eat my breakfast. I can feel Angelica's smile go wider.

"I see"

And the silence is back again...except for the sound of people outside and our utensils hitting our plate

...

..

"..Rie?"

"What is it, Big Sis?"

"Don't you have any other friends?"

"Hah?"I stopped eating again and stared at her, curious of her question.

"Ah,I did not mean to stop being friends with Mikasa, Eren and Armin. I meant...are you friendly with other kids your age?"

"a-ah..."I quietly answered. I looked away from her and looked down on my breakfast, knowing she would not be happy with my answer.

I heard her sigh "Rie, You got to stop fighting Kids."I glanced at her expression, she looked worried at me

"Not my fault that they keep teasing me and pushing me to my limit. I'm just teaching them a lesson "I looked away from her gaze, pouting.

"Well, How could they not? When they try to talk to you, you always just stare at them, never engaging in any conversation and Whenever they invite you to play, you always refuse and walk away! They say you're not like a human with that emotionless face you're putting on"

"It is not right that how I look be their basis of whether they will consider me a friend or ,they're...just boring. You always say that it's better to be honest than to lie in their face. I'm just being honest about my personality."I said right after finishing my meal. I gave her a light glare.

"I know I said that but.."

"but?"I turned my head to her just as I was about to leave

"At least try to be friendly to them, You'll never know when someone might help you in times when you need someone"

"You're there for me,anyways."I glanced at her and smiled a little. She smiled back for a moment but she looked down.

"...Rie,I won't always be there for you"

"..."

I looked down and just left the house without saying anything back...

As soon as I felt the fresh air of outside, I breathed in and breathed it out. I walked to where Mikasa, Eren and Armin usually hangs out, I looked up to the clear blue sky. I watched as a bird flew by and my gaze ended up on the wall.

...

It really feels like we're in a cage...Just like Eren said.

..

As I continued to walk, I passed by an alley and heard a ruckus.

"Oy,It's Eren!"

"Did he come searching for a beating again?"

Ah.

They're here.

I got closer to the ruckus and heard more comments

"Shit! Mikasa is with Him!"

"Let's Run!" and I heard footsteps fading away and another set of footsteps came.

"WOAH!Did you see that?! They ran away when they saw me coming!"I heard Eren's voice.

"I think it was Mikasa they saw" Armin said

I observed the scene before me. It seems Armin is once again getting bullied and has bruises all over and Eren and Mikasa are helping him. I leaned on the wall and crossed my arms.

"Picking a fight again,huh,Eren?"I said. Noticing my presence, they looked at me and had a are-you-serious look.

"Like you're the one to talk. You also pick fights,Rie" I smiled a little and went to them.

"At least, I don't get beaten up."

"Didn't you see it earlier? They ran away after seeing me!"

I looked to the side, ignoring him. _Pretty sure it was Mikasa._ I said in my head..

"Mikasa!"I noticed Mikasa and went to hug her. Mikasa 's eyes softened and she smiled at me.

"Long time no see~"I said in my cutest voice while rubbing my cheek against hers. I hugged her tightly but she did not seem to mind.

"You just saw each other, Yesterday!"

"18 hours without Mikasa is really long you know! It's Agony to just think about it!"I whined and hugged Mikasa more tightly ,Again she did not seem to mind.

"Huh?You brought that again?"Armin pointed behind me. I looked at what he is talking about and saw my gun. I released Mikasa from my hug and grabbed the gun that was strapped behind me

"Hm?Of course. I'm training myself to use this when I join the Survey Corps.."I said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You're going on about that again? You know guns don't work on titans "Eren said looking at me like I'm crazy

"...I..I know. I am still comfortable with using this.I can still make this useful"I pouted while holding my gun.

"...You're crazy,Why are you obsessed with that gun only?It's way too heavy for you to use"

"Shut up.I don't really care but Dr .Jaegar was the one who gave it to me saying it's mine even though i'm not sure"

No.I'm pretty sure it was mine,My childhood days,to be exact which I don't remember,When he gave it to me, It felt that a treasure was given to felt like it was very precious to me. Why would a gun be so precious?

"Ah..Dad did?Speaking of that,Are you going to him today too?"Eren asked me since I always go over to their house

Dr Jaegar always asked me to come over almost daily.I don't know why but he said that I was his Special Client but I don't have any sickness. Sis seems to be okay with it ,He never really do...Doctor stuff to me , he tells me to do something and I do it then he writes on a notebook ,he checks my breathing patterns and gets my blood.

It's like he's studying me.

"Hm?Ah,No. He said I'm free for a while. He said he's on a trip or something"

"Ah, He did say that"Eren looked down but I can see his fists curled up into a tight ball. It seems he remembered something that made him frustrated. He told us how his parents are against him joining the Survey Corps.

That led us to the river. Eren was throwing rocks.

They're talking about how foolish the people here are,thinking that we are always safe inside the Walls.

We were just talking but the next thing we knew...

...

..it was already Chaos.

* * *

"Eren!Mikasa!That was...THAT WAS"I can't seem to speak mind seemed to go was too sudden.

Eren,Mikasa and I were already were going to the direction of their house.I turned left,separating with them to go over my Sister's.I run and run. People's screams are all I hear.

It was frightening.

I can finally see our house. It's still there!.I opened the door to search for my sister. As soon as I opened the door,I found my sister by the window,staring at the now destroyed Wall. Her face mixed with fear and She can't seem to move, her mind maybe is also blank.I went over to her side and frantically shook her.

"BIG SIS?! BIG SIS! HEY! WE GOTTA GO"Angelica finally blinked and looked at me.

"Rie?Ah!That's right! We need to get to the Boat!"Angelica grabbed my hand and we ran out of the house.

As soon as we stepped outside,there was a huge shadow looming on looked behind to already see the titan's Hand getting closer to us. It 's Grin is widening as it's hands are getting closer to grab it's next meal. The next events were too quick for me to register.

Big sis...pulled me and pushed me to the side.I tripped from the impact of the push and sat on the ground.

"RIE, RUN!"I looked behind me to see ...Angelica...Big Sis's body is halfway through it's keeps wriggling in it's grasp.I'm too shocked to move.I watched as her body was swallowed whole.

I don't get it ,She was alive a moment ago...

Why?Why?Why?why?WHY?!

I stood up.I don't know why I'm not running.I grabbed my gun and aimed at it's neck. It 's hand getting closer to it's next meal but it won't be able to eat anymore.

I shot,It dropped dead.I don't even know how but the only thing i get is that it's dead.

I looked behind me,Titans seemed to notice me.I reloaded my gun.

" Ah...The boat left"

...I don't want to see someone die in front of me anymore.

..like that time...

..Huh?When is that time?

* * *

 **Hi!thank you for reading the first chapter of my Attack On Titan Fanfiction!If you do not know,this was a remaked version of the same fanfic in wattpad by you want to see the events I planned until the Female Titan arc,Then search it on wattpad by the name "Lost Identity" by LoveStartsWithHate (which is me) BUT that is a messy one though,this one here in is a detailed and improved version of my story.I tried really Hard to make this story good enough.**

 **There are events here that are not on my story in wattpad ,Like,I'm going to tell the times when she was in the Survey Corps before Eren and others ,Her recruiting moment was kind of messed up and cliched so I'm changing 's Identity will be obviously hinted here and many more.**

 **So yeah,This will be like the more Offical One.**


	2. Chapter 2:Outside

_Footsteps..._

 _I hear footsteps right below me._

 _I feel myself moving .I hear deep ragged breathing and warmth enveloping me._

 _Is someone carrying me? They seem...tired?_

 _..._

 _I feel fresh cool wind hitting my face..._

 _I hear the leaves of a tree rustling ,now that I think about it...It smells of grass...Are we in a forest?_

 _Why is he walking? Where is he going to take me?_

 _I tried to talk...but my throat seems dry and can't muster a word not even a tiny sound._

 _Who is carrying me? Based from the deep tone of his breathing, It's a man .I want to look at his face._

 _But ,my eyes won't open also._

 _I gave up. I let the man take me to wherever he is going._

 _It was just silence .All I can hear is his light footsteps, his breathing and the sound of leaves rustling..._

 _It was like that for a few minutes until I heard a very distinct sound_

 _Footsteps.._

 _Only this time, It's heavy. With each step, it resounds through the whole area...and it's getting closer to us_

 _I hear the man panic. He tried to run as fast as he could but because of me, he is slow._

 _Even with that, all I can hear is the giant footsteps._

 _The loud footsteps that seems to echo through my ears.._

 _Getting closer with each step.._

* * *

"GAH!"

Waking up, I hear large footsteps that makes our house tremble.

Titan.

It gotten so close to my house?! I need to get rid of it fast!

I rushed out of my house, grabbing my gun in the process. As soon as I step outside, I hid behind the wall of my house.' _That Titan is still right next to our house. I need to be careful to not get noticed. I don't want it ruining my focus' ._ I climbed up to the roof of another house. I positioned myself in a better position so that I can aim better at that titan.

At _that_ day, I was confused.

Was I able to kill a titan using a gun?

I was very surprised and confused...The next time I tried it, I was still able to kill it by just aiming at the neck, at the center to be exact. Although I said that, There was times where I failed...and risk myself getting noticed by the titan and escaping by the skin of my teeth. Unlike those Survey Corps, I don't have 3DMG so I only have my feet and gun to help me escape.

Survey Corps...

Speaking of them, I saw them getting near at my position one day. Although, they were not able to reach our house before getting mobbed by abnormals. I don't really mind if they found me but I'm having second thoughts if I should go back inside the Walls...

When I'm outside here, I feel ...free.

Like I could do anything I want. It's like being able to stretch when you were trapped in a stuffy crate for hours long. It was satisfying.

Besides, I don't even know if Mikasa, Eren and Armin are still alive...Without them, there's actually no one I care for inside those Walls.

I aimed at the center of the nape of the titan, unsuspecting of a big bullet about to pierce through. When I knew the aim is right, I shot.

 _Let's hope this works, please._

The bullet pierced a clean hole in it's nape. The titan stopped moving. I stared at it, hoping it dies. The titan, as I hoped, slowly fell to the ground, steam coming from it's body, signaling it's death.

I let out a sigh that I did not know that I was holding. I'm so relieved that our house is safe. That relief did not go on for a moment though before a large shadow loomed over me , covering the sun.

Knowing what's behind me, I jumped off the roof and rolled onto the ground for safe landing. I looked behind to see a 6 meter titan whose face looked like a kid that has been stolen of it's favorite toy, smashed the roof where I was previously.

Noticing I wasn't in it's supposed to be bloody hand, It searched for me and saw me on the ground. I run away from our house as far as possible. _I need to kill it away from my house_. As I ran, I heard slow loud footsteps behind me. I heard crashes though. I glanced a look at it. It was destroying every house it passes through, left and right. Sheesh, Looks like this guy's in a bad mood. It seems to be an abnormal and it seems it's angry and is taking it out on me.

I need to create a distance. I pushed myself to run as fast as I could just to make some distance to it ,so I can shoot it. Reaching my limit, I started to breathe heavily but I still pushed myself. I looked behind to see it was enough distance to shoot.

As the Angry titan makes it way towards me, I started to aim at it's neck and...I shoot.

The bullet pierced through. The titan stopped moving and reached for the bullet hole. I ran a bit far away from it , in case it failed. I watched it as it just held it's neck...

Then it released it's neck from it's hold, to see steam and the hole, nowhere to be seen anymore. The Titan seeming to be angered over this, started to run it's way to me, once again destroying houses!

"Aah!SHIT!NICE JOB,RIE!GODDAMN IT!NOW IT'S RUNNING!HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO ESCAPE NOW?!"Since I ran a safe distance before, There was time to think and run some more. Although, The safe distance is getting smaller by the second.

 _Now what?!_

I looked left and right to see if there is anything I can use. I noticed we were not in the town anymore. We're in the open field now. From far away, I can see a forest, I could confuse the titan there! but with this kind of pace, I'll be dead before reaching it.

Aah! Think! think! think!

I glanced at my right to see a body...It's a soldier...At it's jacket donned the Logo of Wings of Freedom..It's dead...

No, no! It's not the time for that!

I can...I can use it's 3DMG!

It is a GREAT idea! If I actually KNOW how to use one! What if it also doesn't have gas?

"GRAAAHH! WHATEVER! I'll risk it!" I turned right to the direction of the dead soldier. I glanced a look at the angry titan. In a little bit, It'll reach me. I have to do this fast!

I fumbled with the belts of the 3DMG, trying to remove it from the body.

"How do you remove this?!"I screamed, frantically pulling everything just to remove the 3DMG.I can hear it. It's loud footsteps getting closer in a fast pace.

I still tried to remove it but I have no idea how but then...

A shadow loomed over me

No..it's here, just right behind me .Is this how I'm going to die?.I promised Sis, I'll survive but I can't...

I slowly looked behind me, it's eyes staring down at me.

"GRAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

...what?

...What the Fuck is happening?!

WHY IS THERE ANOTHER TITAN AND IT'S ATTACKING THE ANGRY TITAN?!

A 9 meter titan suddenly appeared and lunged itself at the angry titan that was supposed to kill me .It was fighting it off. The angry titan seemed to be pissed off at the sudden arrival of this strange titan, screamed at it and tried to fight it but that strange titan was winning. It was trying to bite off it's head.

Knowing I'm still alive, I relaxed a little and tried to remove once again the 3DMG.I'm not sure what just happened but they're still busy fighting which gives me time to escape.

*Clak*

I grinned as I finally removed the 3DMG . The problem now is...How do I wear it?

*Boogsh*

The sound distracted me and made me turn to the two titans. The strange titan was staring off at the Angry titan...or what was used to be the Angry titan until it turned to steam. The strange titan looked at me and for some reason, I also looked at it's eyes.

It's eyes...It's not like other titans...Now that I carefully looked at it, The 9 meter titan is made up of muscles in some other parts and it's color black? In some of its parts, It was covered in Grayish muscles that looked like the one the Armored Titan have when it smashed through Wall Maria back then.

*shhhhhk*

The strange titan moved and I quickly positioned myself in defensive. The titan looked at me and raised it's hand. _W-what?_.I was confused but that was gone when it reached for me. I aimed at it, by instincts, using my gun and coincidentally pressed the trigger of both of my gun and 3DMG.I was not ready, that's why when I shot ,I suddenly went off to the direction of the forest by recoil from my gun.

I just let myself flew off to that direction.

*BLAM!*

Ouch. Ugh. I just crashed to a tree. Huh. Maybe because It was loosely hung around me or just I don't know how to use this... *sigh*.Ok, When I get back. I'll teach myself on how to use this.

I looked back at the open field. There was nothing in sight. The strange titan was gone...

HUH?!

what was that? I felt like someone's watching me...Maybe imagination? It can't be the Survey Corps..If it is them, I will already see the flares that goes up in the sky and there's none right now. After 3 years ,I finally get what those flares supposed to mean. For some reason, I kept avoiding them. If I see them going to my direction, I go to another place. Maybe because I like this newfound freedom of mine that is why if ever they find me and bring me back inside the Walls...I would avoid them.

After a moment of observing, I decided it's already safe to go back to my house. Knowing there is no other titan in sight anymore, I walked back to my house, eager to relax and eat the fish that I catched at the river earlier morning. My stomach rumbled in response.

* * *

Night time came and I created a campfire, just in front of my house and happily ate the fish, while warming up. Well, certainly a strange day.

"Wait, no. Only THAT titan showing up was strange" I said out loud pertaining to the moment the 9-meter strange titan showed up.

" *sigh* I almost died back there. I thought I would be joining you real soon, Angelica..."I smiled

"Hm. But even if it is nice to finally see you again...I won't forget why you've always supported me in joining the Survey Corps and also the reason why I do want to join it in the first place."

"To go outside, far away from these Walls. Find my memories. I just know it's out here. I may not be making progress now even when I'm sort of "Outside" of the Walls, But I knew It's just here. I'm getting closer"

I said, My face serious. I held to my necklace. The necklace has a design of a red stone. It was a material that does not exist in these Walls. I just know..This necklace just held all of my memories.

It has a connection to Who I really am.

Who I was before.

This necklace was already on me when Sis found me and I did not dare to remove it, or I don't want to. I released my hold and relaxed.

I put out the campfire and went inside my house to finally sleep, after observing for any nearing titans. It's a peaceful night and I hope it stays that way.

It IS a peaceful night however...Why can't I shake off the feeling that I'm being watched?

* * *

 **YAY,CHAP TWO DONE!~**

 **i know it's short, I'm sorry ;-;**

 **Oh yes, I noticed the First chapter has some missing words and I will update but for some reason, whenever I correct it,FF makes it a missing word. It's my first time in FF or rather in a very long time, like 5 years or so? So I'm not updated to FF's features now.**

 **OK NOW!**

 **This is a chapter that was NOT in my story on Wattpad. In Wattpad Version, I skipped to the day where the Survey Corps finds her and recruits her too easily. I was not happy with that. I let her experience outside the walls mysterious to readers and the recruiting was just like so cringey.**

 **Next Chapter is the time where Survey Corps finds her. To Give you a lil bit of info, The Survey Corps found her in a few months after the events of chap two. I'm still deciding if next chapter would be an extra chap(flashback chapter) wherein the events are from when Angelica found Rie.**

 **If you want info & Artworks(Made by me),Pleas do visit my DeviantArt Account where I occasionally post Artworks, together with infos, of Rie Vricht.**

 **DeviantArt Acc: Yurinyx . deviantart .com**

 **It is under gallery folder "OC",For now, I only posted two. But I will be posting soon.**


	3. Chapter 2: Walls (Flashback Chapter)

_**FLASHBACK CHAPTER :D**_

 _ **just a reminder, this is 9 year old Rie so I tried to write the vocabulary of an average 9 year old**_

 _This...Where am I?_

 _Ugh, my head hurts.._

 _I haven't opened my eyes yet I hear many voices just a little bit far away from Where I am..._

 _I feel there is something soft and nice underneath me...It's...a bed...?_

I'm tired of guessing things so I decided to open my eyes. The first thing I see is the brown wall...?No, wait...It's a ceiling..

I sat up but I held my head immediately. _It hurts._

I looked around me. Indeed, I was lying on a soft white bed. There are a bunch of furniture around me also. There is a small circular table right beside my bed. The rest of the furniture are cabinets, drawers ,A large table and a set of chairs, A fireplace and many more. I looked to my left to see a window covered by a blue curtain .I peeked through the window and what's outside amazed me.

 _Whoa...It's amazing to see how many people pass through this small road_

 _"Oh! You're already awake!" A soft voice called behind me. I immediately stopped peeking and slowly looked at the one who called me._

 _It's a pretty lady. She has soft brown hair that is tied to a ponytail. She wears the same type of clothes of the people who I saw passing through the small road, dull but looks comfortable. Although, even if her clothes are plain, Her face wouldn't be called like that. She has such a soothing and warm smile that compliments her whole face._

 _She's so beautiful._

 _I can't help but look down. For some reason, I find it hard to talk to such a beautiful lady._

 _"Y-yes,...W-who are you?...Where...am I?" I shyly asked the beautiful lady in front of me without looking at her. I grew nervous when I hear her soft footsteps going over to me._

 _"Oh Sorry, right. I am Angelica Vricht. You are currently in Wall Maria. Shiganshina, to be exact. May I know your name?" The Lady introduced herself in such a soothing voice that it made me calm down._

 _"Angelica...I...I am..."_

 _Uh...What's my name? What...What do you mean "What's my name"?!_

 _"I...I don't know...my name...What do I do?" I panicked, How can I not remember my name?!_

 _"What...?...Is this...what they call "Memory Loss"?" Angelica muttered but because she is so close to me, I can perfectly hear it.._

 _No, No! I'm sure I would know even my own name!...Think!_

 _My eyes suddenly landed on my chest, where I noticed something hanging off my neck. It's...a necklace. It's so beautiful. It has that beautiful Red stone decorated with golden lines..?_

 _The more I look at it...The more...I became enchanted by it..._

 _"Rie"_

 _"Come again?"_

 _"M-My! My Name is Rie" I proudly said to her "That is all I remember.."_

 _"I see...so it IS Memory Loss..."I can hear her tone became sad" But don't worry! I'm sure your memories will come back to you!" She said happily._

 _"So your name is Rie...Truth be told, Rie, I found you last night unconscious outside of my door, Do you remember something before that?" Angelica looked at me but I still kept my head down._

 _"...No...I only remember now...Why...?" Angelica seemed to notice the sadness in my tone, hurriedly patted my shoulder._

 _"O-Oh! But don't worry! I'm sure My family back in Wall Sina can find records of you even with just your first name and appearance! So together, let's visit them sometime okay?" I just only nodded_

 _"Walls..."_

 _"Hm?"_

 _"What do you mean... by Wall Maria? or Wall Sina?" I asked just a simple question but it made her go quiet. Is that supposed to be a sensitive topic?_

 _"You...You don't know about the Walls?" I stayed silent "I can't believe it...Wait, maybe it's because you have Memory Loss..or if I'm going to think big here...You..." She cut her sentence off_

 _"I guess, I should teach you about it..Rie..The World now is being overrun by Giants that wants to wipe humanity off the face of the Earth. The remaining surviving humans built three huge walls. Wall Maria, Wall Rose and Wall Sina. Where we are now, this is Wall Maria." Angelica explained._

 _"I see" Angelica stood up and grabbed a glass of water for me to drink. She's been looking at me for a while now._

 _"Rie ,You've been looking down this whole time...Can I see your face?"She mentioned while bringing me the glass of water. I really can't help but not look at such a beautiful lady but if she wants me to, I guess I could._

 _I raised my head and looked at her straight in the eyes. She was already in front of me._

 _*Crash!*_

 _"Hieee!" I unintentionally squeaked at the sound of the glass shattering. I shot a confused look at Angelica just to see her directly looking at me in the eyes, with a puzzled expression mixed with shock._

 _"R-Red eyes...and why... does it glow in...in such a scary way? " She quietly muttered, thinking that I'm not able to hear it. D-does my eyes really look scary? I happened to see a reflection of my eyes on the glass shard on the floor_

 _"I-is there something wrong...with my eyes?" I hesitantly asked, afraid of the answer. I relaxed a little when Angelica also did. She sat in my bed and patted my head._

 _"N-No. It's just rare for someone to have such beautiful Red eyes" She smiled at me, I stared at her for a moment before looking down again_

 _"You don't have to lie about it..They're scary, right? They are like the color of blood and it shines in such a scary way too" I said to her ,copying what she muttered a while ago._

 _"No. Not anymore. If the person itself is not scary, then the appearance don't matter, does it?"She once again smiled._

 _"Say...What do you think about being a part of my family? I'm currently living alone now and I certainly don't mind taking care of someone. Rie Vricht seems like a nice name .What do you think?" I looked at her face ,seeing if she is lying or not. She only smiled at me and I also smiled back._

 _"I don't mind!"_

 _I don't really get and know what's going on around me but at the time I need someone. At the moment, I don't remember anything except for my name, She was the one who took care of me. She who invited me with her warm smile. I swear that I will protect her and her smile. No matter what it is._

* * *

 _"Hey Rie! Let's go play! We're playing with the others too! Rie is super fast so I want you to join my team!" A small boy spoke to me. This boy, whose name I don't remember , and his friends started to befriend me when Angelica introduced me to other people in the neighborhood. Not a day has passed but other kids already approached me and I thought I will be having fun..._

 _"Sure! I'll be on your team! "_

 _" Alright! You're super fast so Victory will be ours!" The small boy laughed and brought me to where we usually play. The other kids are already there and they were surprised to see me arrive but they smiled anyways. Hm. This is what I've been noticing lately_

 _"Hey guys! Rie will be on my team!" The other kids started to complain_

 _"Whaaat? No way! Rie is super fast!"_

 _"Yeah! Rie, be on our team instead!"The other kids just laughed and I awkwardly laughed with them. Soon we started to play, We were already about to win, all I need to do is catch the girl, I'm currently chasing. This girl, I knew I'm going to lose. I've seen her run before and she's faster than me but..._

 _Why? How did I catch up to her? I saw it. She was running faster than me but she purposely slowed down._

 _She sat down and the ground and laughed with her teammates, saying sorry for losing. I approached her._

 _"Oh Rie! Gosh, You're so great ,Rie! I really can't win against you! You're like the best at everything we play!" The girl complimented over and over and the other kids did too. This is what I've been noticing lately. Whenever I'm with them, they always shower me with compliments with no reason at all._

 _"Why?...You...You purposely slowed down so I can catch up to you" I told her. She went quiet for a moment and stared at me like I was crazy._

 _"Wha-What are you saying, Rie? I didn't slow down. You are really fast, Rie!"_

 _Ugh...This is so...!_

 _This is normal?!_

 _How boring..._

 _"Oh? I know you're faster than me yet I was able to catch up to you? Just so you know, I hate being spoon-fed like I'm so stupid. This is so...boring" I spat and walked away leaving them to stare at me. I hid behind a nearby wall .Once they knew or so they thought, I was far away, they started speaking._

 _"What the heck is that?! What's gotten into Rie?"_

 _"Yeah! She suddenly saying some mean stuff! After I SO kindly invited her in our game!"_

 _"We always complimented her, right?!And I was nice enough to let her win in every game! She's so ungrateful! What is wrong with her?!"_

 _"No, more like, She's always been such a weirdo, right?!"_

 _"Agreed ,Always saying stuff like "Don't you feel like a caged bird here?" or even "Why not go out of these Walls"?! Like seriously! She want to be eaten by Titans or something?, Hahaha!_

 _"And her eyes too! Talk about creepy! Let's be honest guys, We never really want to get friendly with a girl like her in the first place, right?"_

 _"Yeah" "Uh-huh" "Of course!" "I know right?!" "I agree with you"_

 _"The only thing why I was friendly with her is because my mom said that , who adopted her, is from Wall Sina! So that's why we should be friends with her because Rie, in case, might give us gifts that are only in Wall Sina!"_

 _"Yea! My mom said that too" "Can't believe we're all the same!"_

 _Hm..I already noticed it anyways. I just want to hear it loud and clear from them. Not like this, behind my back. Hmp! They're boring anyways. Is this normal for them? What a boring thing. They did not even notice that I was just showing them a fake smile._

 _I walked away, not bothering to hear their useless insults._

* * *

 _"Oh no! Rie, they did?!"Angelica exclaimed, her face filled with worry. As soon as I get home ,Angelica bombarded me with question about how my day went. Of course, I just can't lie to her._

 _"Angelica...Sis...Wall Sina...Are they really important?"I asked her with a confused face._

 _"Hm..Let's just say..The people in Wall Sina are really rich, far richer than the people in Wall Maria and Wall Rose"_

 _"Then why did you come here, in Wall Maria?"I glanced a look at her expression. Her smile still remaining and her eyes focused on the road outside but her mind seem to go elsewhere._

 _"I guess, I want to experience something that is outside of the World I'm so used to seeing. Back in Wall Sina, I had everything I need and Want. My world only focused on that, that is why I don't understand how the people who are poor, who suffers and who sacrifices feel. So I guess It's because I want to experience it._

 _You know, I didn't really planned to come here to brag about being from a family in Wall Sina. I haven't really got a clue on how they found out. Even though ,I went through the trouble of changing my last name and rarely visited my family. I really apologize, Rie because of me ,Your friends are..."_

 _"N-No! They aren't going to be my friends anyways if they are not honest about their personality"_

 _"Is that so? That's good, Rie. You should always be true to yourself. I am really lucky to have you as my little sister ,even if it's adoptive "She smiled at me. I can't help but stare at her. We had our dinner and later on, slept peacefully. Angelica is really nice..I wonder if there are other people like her inside Wall Sina..I thought as I slowly drifted to sleep._

* * *

 _Morning came and I don't know why but I'm dressed. Not anything special. Just a slightly loose top and long skirt. I'm not really comfortable with skirts but since Sis said I'm a girl and this is what girls wear, I just let it go._

 _"U-uhm, Angelica-I mean, Sis. Can I go outside?...to explore...I guess" I asked and she only nodded with her trademark smile in place._

 _I headed outside and walked to nowhere in particular. I just roamed around the neighborhood but my peaceful walk was disrupted when somebody tapped me in the shoulder. I glanced to who did it, only to see the three kids from yesterday. I faced them, not minding if the way I look at them is of one who is bored._

 _"Hi! Rie!" The girl in the center cheerfully smiled. Tch . "You know what? You were TOTALLY right yesterday! Us ,being boring...and ..stupid! You're so smart , Rie! I really am sorry! So...what do you say? Friends?" She reached out her hand and smiled so wide, I would've believed her sarcastic speech. Too bad for her, though._

 _"...What..?. Your boring speech was so DULL and STUPID, I did not hear it exactly. I can't really hear something stupid. How about you bow down and beg, maybe I will make an effort to hear your useless cries?" I may or may not be enjoying the shocked faces they have now._

 _"Oh! but seriously, I won't let you trouble Angelica nor me with your failed attempts to be friendly just so you could have the 'Gifts that only exists in Wall Sina'. You are so annoying ,don't ever speak with me again" I finished about to walk away. Oh! I forgot something._

 _"Oh! and You know what? You were TOTALLY right yesterday! Me, being ungrateful and ..Uhm...Weirdo, was it? You're so bright!" I said copying the tone she used earlier "But...what are you going to do? I really am like this. This is my real personality. So..What do you say? Quite different from what you expect?"With that said, I walked out. Leaving them dumbfounded, just like yesterday._

 _"H-Hey! Who do you think you are?!" the boy beside the girl shouted and I looked behind to see him running up to me, ready to punch. I was surprised yet I was also unhurt._

 _I can't believe that I managed to grab his arm and lift him over me so that he would fall roughly behind me. The other boy was shocked but also run up to me to get revenge for his friend. Only to fall to the ground by just a simple kick in the stomach._

 _How am I able to do this?! They're boys! Generally speaking, they have much more strength than girls! I did not fight before too yet it feels like I've been doing this since forever!_

 _"M-Monster!Just like a titan !You're a monster! "The girls shouted at me and ran away. the two boys also stood up and ran away_

 _"More like Demon! Demon-girl!" because of that "fight", many people have been around us for a while. I'm pretty sure they saw it and heard what they say. Geez, Angelica will not be happy when she hears this..Furthermore, I just embarrassed her._

 _I quickly walked away from the scene preventing people to further notice me. It's because of those idiots! They're the ones who attacked first! And..I just defended myself...without actually knowing how. Uggghhh._

 _I was in my own world dealing with my troubles when I passed by an alley and heard voices. Curious, I entered the narrow space and ended up with another road in front of me but I stopped and hid myself when the voices I heard was just around the corner._

 _"You Weirdo!" I flinched at the nickname. Is this another fight? Are fights common here in Shiganshina?_

 _"Stop spouting nonsense! You want to go out of these Walls?! Ha!"_

 _I peeked a little more. No, it's not a fight. More like it's just a bullying scene_

 _There were three boys ganging up on a small boy who was kneeling down. He looks like he's holding something...?That looks like a book. The small boy has short blonde hair and..well...That's the only thing I could see right now._

 _"Oi ! Stop that, YOU JERKS!" I backed away to hid in the alley some more when I heard a new voice. Another small boy with brown hair and green eyes was running furiously to the bullies._

 _"Hey! It's that Eren!"_

 _"The other Weirdo? Let's also beat him up! We need to knock some sense into these weirdos" The bullies shared a laugh and prepared their fists. That did not stop...Eren, was it?_

 _I was prepared for a fight but the fight was pretty much one-sided. That Eren kid is losing. How stupid._

 _*Blam* *Bloogsh* *Wam* (It's punching SFX)_

 _*sigh* Since when did I start being such a little nice girl except for Angelica?_

 _"What the hell is up with that girl? Ouch"_

 _"H-Huh?! You're that girl from earlier! She's the one I saw who beat up two guys earlier!"_

 _"They called her a Monster! No, A demon-girl"_

 _"Tch! We'll remember this!"The three bullies scrambled to get up and ran away. The Eren kid..I can sense him standing up and rubbing his swollen cheek._

 _"Oi, I didn't really need your help. I could take them on anytime" He said ,glaring at me. I stared back, not really fazed by his glare but I was slightly annoyed at his attitude_

 _"Oh? Don't misunderstand. I did not want to help you at all. They just did something really annoying." I said to him, glaring back._

 _"plus, it looks like you were losing, so I don't really believe what you said earlier" I said, glancing a look at the blonde boy who was still kneeled down._

 _"I was not losing!"_

 _"Why would you declare something like that? Going outside of these Walls? " I said, now looking at the blonde boy who was trying to stand up. Eren, who notice who I was staring at, helped him to stand up._

 _"What? So you are like them too? People don't realize that inside these Walls we are trapped when there's so much out there to be seen! People think that as long as they are caged here, they are safe. Also, they don't believe that there's something out there but we do, right? Armin? Like the Ocean!"Eren smiled at the blonde boy who he called, Armin._

 _"O-cea-n...?" I phrased the word on how he pronounced it._

 _"...What is it?" I asked, curious of this thing they said that is outside._

 _"..It's a big blue mass of water that almost covers the entire land and it's filled with salt too! There are a bunch of other stuff too! In Armin's book, there's one where there is a land that is so high that it might be higher than the Walls! It's called a 'Montan!"Eren said, phrasing the last word with difficulty._

 _"Eren, It's ' Mountain'.Moun-tain."Armin muttered to the boy .Eren, just laughed his mistake off._

 _"...I sort of want to see this...O-cean" I said. The two boys stared at me in surprise._

 _"Wait, You...Believe us?" I nodded. The two looked at each other than to me. Looks like I'm the only addition to their belief. I looked at the sky to see it was getting dark. I was about to walk away without saying anything at all._

 _"Wait, What was your name again? Was it...Mo- No, I think It was De-...?"_

 _"Rie..Rie Vricht" I said stopping him from calling me in those nicknames the Idiots have come up with._

 _"I'm Eren! and this is Armin" I only nodded 'Like I didn't know already' and walked away._

 _Hm...O-cean...I'm curious of it..._

 _Eren and Armin, huh? They're the only two people I've met that is thinking what I was thinking._

 _Caged..inside these Walls.._

 _Hm...? Come to think of it..They did not react when they saw my eyes..._

 _..._

 _Oh~, How Interesting._

* * *

 _Next Morning:_

 _"Ah ,Eren"_

 _"Rie?!"_

 _Right now, I coincidentally met up with Eren and Armin. I was just roaming around when I heard bells and seems like everyone is rushing to somewhere so I followed and that's where I met these two._

 _"You live in Shiganshina?" I rolled my eyes at him and only nodded_

 _"Where are they going?" I asked, pointing to the people running_

 _" To The Survey Corps .of course!" When he sees my confused look, he was also puzzled._

 _"No way, Rie. You don't know who the Survey Corps. is? " Armin asked me which is the first time he talked to me. I gave off a face that said ' not-a-clue-'_

 _"What? You've been staying in your room in all your life? Don't tell me the first time ,you stepped outside is yesterday" Eren smirked and made fun of me. Annoying._

 _"What? You've been fighting off bullies all this time? Don't tell me you always lose. Ah ,on second thought, never mind. I know the answer. I saw it firsthand anyways" I said, keeping my blank look. Eren looks like he was about to say something but Armin stopped him_

 _"Anyways! If you want to see the Ocean, then you must go outside the Walls first! The Survey Corps. are the group of people who are always outside of the Walls!_

 _They are risking their lives just so we could take back what was rightfully ours in the first place !The lands that was lost to the Titans!_

 _They're the real heroes!" Eren said excitedly, as if I cannot see it. Eren is jumping and is so giddy ,it's practically annoying._

 _Survey Corps.. huh.._

 _How Interesting._

* * *

 **WOOPS SORRY.I did not meant for the flashback chapter to be so long!**

 **I initially thought that I should end it in Angelica's part and have the next scenes for other flashback chapters but I don't want to have too many Flashback chapters so together with Angelica's, I included here too on how he met Eren and Armin. Mikasa will be on the next flashback chapter.**

 **So next chapter,is the continuation of the story.**

 **Next chapter will be the day when Survey Corps found her and recruits her!**

 **R &R!**


	4. Chapter 3: Survey Corps

_Shit._

 _Shit._

 _SHIT!_

 _I just made my biggest mistake yet._

 _No. No, No, No._

 _I can still avoid this!_

 _I mean, yeah, the Survey Corps suddenly showed up all over my neighborhood while I was out hunting for food and I was careless enough to not see the flares that went up in the sky that morning. And when I was about to return and prepare my breakfast, I heard voices and footsteps and I thought that was just my own footsteps and the voices I hear are just the trees' leaves' rustling but it was not! And before I knew it, there was a survey corps soldier, specifically a woman who has short auburn hair, suddenly walked by and I instinctively hid as far as I can behind a house but I suddenly grew nervous when she said she saw something move and was about to further investigate if not for her companions telling her that the sun might be playing tricks on her eyes and since I was still outside, I quietly and quickly hid inside the house. I lay down on the farthest corner of the house by the window where, fortunately, has a lot of furniture to help me cover myself more and that is where I am right at this moment..._

I let out a silent breath that I did not know I was holding this whole time. In order to escape, I just need an opening. _But these are the Survey Corps! They who are in the battlefield almost daily surely to have better senses than me! Maybe they are now sensing my presence here inside this house..If I really want to escape, I just need a moment where there is no soldiers roaming around the road and neither the skies. I don't want to be found. If they find me, they'll surely take me back inside those Walls._

 _No way, I don't want to go back in there. It feels so uncomfortable. I truly felt I don't belong in there and everything in their feels strange and weird and so confusing that it hurts. The only people who made it bearable was Mikasa, Eren ,Armin and...Angelica..but..she's dead..and there's no way to tell if the trio survived..I haven't seen them ever since our conversation...Heh,I remember that the last words I said to them is me panicking about that Colossal Titan that destroyed Wall Maria._

 _...Ah~...I miss them..._

"Oi Leevvii ! Have you seen any titans aroound yeeeet?!" A obnoxiously loud voice interrupted my moment that made me focus at the situation at hand. The woman, who made the noise, sounds disappointed and from the tone of her voice, she's about to cry if this...whatever she's sad about.. continues any longer. I peeked a little at the window and saw three figures of different heights walking at the road. One man, who is blonde , stood as the tallest, and the loud woman was a bit shorter than the blonde man but the dark-haired man stood as the smallest.

"Tch. Shut the hell up, Shitty Glasses .You have eyes, don't you? You can see that there's no Titan in sight around this town"

"I can see! I can see it alright! Erwin! What do we do?! Are titans scared of me now?! but I've been taking such good care of them!" She faced the taller blonde man which sighed in response to her antics.

"That is why we are investigating, Hanji. During our past expeditions, When we get near to this town, Titan numbers have been decreasing the past 2 years. Even though it was better for us because we don't suffer large numbers of casualties anymore but , we need to investigate this matter on why Titan activity doesn't happen in this part of Wall Maria. Some Soldiers have stated that they hear gunshots in this area" The tall blonde man, who the woman, Hanji, called as Erwin, stated so calmly that it was kind of creepy. Despite the man called Erwin's explanation, Hanji kept complaining in an annoyingly loud voice.

 _Wait. I could use this chance! That woman is so loud that they might not hear me go out!_

Determined to escape, I slowly and quietly stood up, putting on my hood with the green cloak that has the same color of the Survey Corps's Cape. I kept my gaze at the three but they paid me no mind. Across from me is another window, I quietly crawled to it, glancing at all sides for any signs for Survey Corps. Soldiers ,seeing there was none. I started to slip through it, putting my legs first.

I kept glancing from the three and outside while slowly crawling out. I heard the woman's voice dying down and was about to finish bawling. I need to go now. Once I was out, I removed my shoes to avoid the sound of footsteps and swiftly ran hid behind the wall of the house at the exterior part of the town just before hearing a loud slamming of a door.

(Levi's POV)

"Tch. Escaped?"

The brat escaped instead of planning to fight us . Though, I didn't know the coward was in here in the first place. I thought I would sense it's bloodlust but there's actually none. It just want to avoid us as much as possible. If they can. Sooner or later, We'll find the brat.

"Ohh! That's a first Levi! Someone actually escaped from you?...with just a simple tactic" I can already feel the damn glasses smirking behind me. I turned around and glared at her although it doesn't bother her, which I find annoying

"It won't escape for long."

"I see, It's avoiding us...Hanji, I want you to gather everyone here. Levi-"

"Yeah ,I get it. Capture and drag that coward's ass here. If the guy doesn't comply, I'll do it by force" I nodded to Erwin who nodded back confirming my statement, taking off to the direction of the "Forest of Giant Trees".

(Rie)

I let out a sigh of relief once I reached the forest. For some reason, the soldiers all went to the town. It was strangely suspicious but I think they're having a meeting or something. With that ,I can rest for a moment. I used an underground passage which I found when I was Kid. I always use this passage to get an easier path to my training area. This big forest was perfect for my training and sometimes this is where Dr Jaeger and I conduct our daily...check-ups..?.

Anyway, as soon as I arrived here, I grabbed the 3DMG that was nearby, which I found the past months and went up to a branch in one of the trees which I am currently resting at but it ran out of gas so I disposed of it already.

"Oi"

What the-.?!

Knowing what's behind me, I turned around and quickly attacked to where his head is supposed to be but I only touched air. I looked down to see it's that Dark-haired midget!. Knowing I missed, The man grabbed my wrist and pinned me with my back against the bark of the tree.

"It's better if you don't resist unless you want me to beat your ass" The small man said to me, glaring at me, His face a bit too close to mine. Is he trying to see what's under my hood? . I know he still doesn't know my identity since my hood was still on and my clothes are a simple shirt and pants so he must think that I'm a guy..

"Now be a good dog and follow my every order. You should know that If I want to ,I could kill you right at this spot" He venomously spat at me, every word he says seemed to intimidate me.

I don't know how high my pride is but I..resisted. I tried to knee him in the stomach but it seemed like he expected it and threw me off from the branch and into the ground and it was not a nice experience. I hit the ground with a painful thud . My back suffered tremendous pain from the throw.

"No-Ah!"I screamed as pain enveloped my body. I tried to move but was only able to do the crouching position. Fuck! It hurts! The Hell does he think he's doing?!

"I said don't resist and you will follow me back or do you still plan on resisting? I could very well damn just drag your sorry ass to Erwin whether you like it or not. Not like you have a choice"

" _I won't come back...to...those...Walls...I won't..."_

"What did you say, brat?"

"I said...I WON'T! You Damn MIDGET!" I shouted at him, facing him and pointing my gun at him and shot quickly. The small man was too shocked of the fast pace of events. The bullet only wounded his shoulder. I clicked my tongue .From my belt, I let out a knife and charged at him, letting adrenaline control me. I felt cool wind hitting my face when I realized that my hood was already removed but I did not care .I was about to slice him-

"I suggest you put the knife down" My knife stopped just before the silver blade made a mark at the midget's neck. A booming voice resounded through the whole area. I looked up to where I heard it. I saw the blonde man staring down at me and not only that ,The soldiers are surrounding us with blades at hand, ready to attack If ever I made a move against this midget.

" We assure you, we won't hurt you. We just wanted to ask you some questions " The blonde man said to me when I made no move to put the knife down. I hesitated but seeing as I was already at a disadvantage, I see no point in continuing to do so.

The small man held his injured shoulder while glaring darkly at me. Was it something I said? Don't tell me, He's angry because I called him a midget?

"Glad you are being cooperative. I would like to introduce myself. I am Erwin Smith , Commander of the Survey Corps. May I know your name? " I did not notice that the blonde...c-commander?..already walked to my position. He's tall. I darkly looked at him as I looked up at his height.

"..." I just stayed silent. I showed him my emotionless face hoping he would get a hint that I have no plans of telling him anything.

"Oi, Answer" The midget told me. More like, He commanded me! Grr, Fuck off! Ya are not the one I'm talking to! Ah! I reverted back to how I used to speak! I forgot that I used to speak like this but I trained myself to speak in a more formal and polite manner because I don't want to embarrass Angelica back then.

"If you don't plan on answering, we might take you back to the Walls. Where you will be judged by the Court, and if you really don't answer, you will be forced to die" Erwin's face seemed like it didn't change but the way it looks for me is that his eyes held an intimidating blue, as if trying to say 'Go and Try Us'.

"I'm...not going back...to those damn Walls"

"Then, you have to answer my questions"

"...or not." I muttered. I shot at the soldiers that were stationed on the branches of the trees behind all fell like dead flies. Psh. They're just injured. I ran as fast as I could to that direction but my path was suddenly blocked by a fist making its way through my jaw. I leaned back to avoid it just in time but found myself leaning too far back and so to not lose my balance, I back flipped and stood up and glared at the attacker.

It's that Dark-haired Shorty again. Huh? He can still move his injured arm? How is he able to form a stance with a wounded shoulder? Interesting..but now's not the time to be impressed, Rie. Knowing I have to go through him to get away from this place, I breathe in and out and readied myself.

I charged at him, leaped a little and kicked my leg to the direction of his temples. He ducked down. I spun and used my other leg to swing at his head again but he dodged again. He grabbed my leg and flipped me over, now my face is about to crash to the lovely grass below but I won't let him. I laid my hands on the ground before my face crashes to it and transporting my strength to my leg which he is holding, I kicked him with all my might trying to resist his hold on my leg. I felt him releasing his hold but I hit no one. Instead, He was the one who hit me and I laid in the ground . I was still lying down on the ground when Levi came to view and was about to smash his boot on my shoulder when I rolled to the side and swiftly stood up and stared at him while he also stared back.

This guy, he was able to keep up with me..Are all Survey Corps. Soldiers like this?..If so, I'm definitely screwed.

"Rie" I muttered, my head down. How can I let myself be captured by them?.

"I see. Rie, IF you would join us and return to our base camp where we would continue our conversation, it would be kind of you" I nodded to him. As we rode back to their camp or whatever, The loud woman, Hanji, matched my horse's pace and called for my attention.

"HI there! Waaaaa~! Say ,Did you find any information about the titans while surviving out here?! I'm pretty sure you have ,right? Won't you tell me? Oh please, Oh please!~"She bombarded with questions and with each word she says, her face gets closer and closer.

"Get ya face outta my view" I glared at her

"Oh, Are you mad? Sorry, Sorry! I really can't tell when your eyes are covered by your hair. By the way, you have such silky Silver hair! Although it looks like You cut it yourself without a mirror. Oh, Right, right! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Major Hanji Zoe, It was nice to meet someone who can kill titans-"She glanced down to where my gun is positioned.

"-With a gun. Which has been considered impossible, by the way!" She gleefully said and that makes her more creepy. First the commander who has such a beautiful bushy pair of eyebrows, next is this abnormally loud woman who's suspicious as hell and the last is that Cursed-to-have-a-glare-for-the-rest-of-his-life midget. Is Survey Corps. filled with Creepy Weirdos?

(3rd)

The Survey Corps and Rie finally arrived at the camp with few casualties but fortunately, no deaths..yet. Halfway through the ride, soldiers reported of titans engaging the group, Erwin glanced a look at Rie seeing if she is alarmed or in any other way ready to fight off the titans but to his disappointment, Rie only stared at him, arms and legs crossed, with a small smirk on her face. She is expecting him to do something in order for "his informant" to be safe. Just as she expected, Erwin commanded soldiers to kill the titans that are already inside their flank and avoid the incoming ones As soon as they arrived, The soldiers rested while the three namely Erwin, Hanji and Levi, together with Rie had a private meeting inside one of the tents.

"First of all, I would like to thank you for your cooperation" Erwin sat on a chair across from Rie who is just satisfied standing. She nodded in response.

"Now, We don't really have enough time and it's dangerous for us to stay here in Titan territory any longer, So I'll make this brief" I nervously fidgeted a little. I never like the type of questions that talks about me.

"Don't worry, We won't ask questions that is too personal" Erwin smiled and reassured the 16 year old girl while Rie had a shocked look as she horrifyingly stared at Erwin. _Erwin just...Commander Eyebrows just fucking smiled! This is..It's...What...? All this time he had this stoned look and now, HE'S FREAKIN CREEPY._

"Were you the one who was using a gun to kill titans?" Erwin started , looking at Rie straight in the eye, or where her eyes is positioned at. Her eyes are covered by her hair ,of course. Having her composure back, Rie nodded.

"If I can ask, How?"

"I don't really know it myself. I just aim at the center of their nape and shoot. Sometimes...it works...Sometimes it does not" Rie explained, the three remained silent for a moment.

"If you think you can trick us with this kind of bullshi-"

"If you have no plans of believing me, then I have no plans of staying here too" Rie cut off the insult Levi was about to throw. _*sigh * I knew it. They just won't believe this. I mean , I also don't even know how, I just do it._

"Please, forgive my subordinate's behavior. If possible, I would still like you to answer my questions" Rie nodded

"While you're out here, Did you find something here that is strange or just any information about Titans?" Hanji's glasses shone and her face is filled with expectance as she hopefully looked at Rie.

"...Not Really. Just the same Information about them that any other Human knows. They eat us. They don't care about animals. They're Giants. That's it. All my life outside, It's just me killing these titans off" Rie shrugged not minding the disappointment in the Titan lover's face.

"How did you exactly found out that you are able to kill a Titan with a gun?" Rie tensed at the question. The three noticed her silence. _This means.. I have to tell them about Angelica._

"...2 years ago...The fall of Wall Maria. My sister died and I guess I was so angry, I killed it without thinking at all. The next thing I knew, I already killed the Titan and the boat left already" Rie told them seeing no harm in doing so.

"Fall of Wall Maria.. So you came from the Walls? If you can survive out here, then why didn't you come back?"

"You must know, right? You always go outside of those Walls. Freedom . Being outside made me feel free, It's dangerous but I'm free. I'm already content in this and I have no plans on going back...plus...If I did, The soldiers will notice me and inform their superiors and their superiors will inform the higher ups, which I'm sure they won't let me off the hook that easy knowing I survived out here" As Rie finished explaining, Erwin only nodded understanding what she meant.

Erwin stared at Rie for a short while then he closed his eyes like he's thinking. _Is he thinking that I have no new information to give them? I wonder if he will drop this conversation now_..

"I've decided" The three in the room looked at Erwin simultaneously once he opened his eyes . "Rie, I would like you to join the Survey Corps"

...

...

"What. the. fuck. are. you saying?!" Rie shouted ,her mouth agape. Levi also glared at Erwin in confusion and Only Hanji was the joyful one in this situation.

"I meant what I said. I want you to join the Survey Corps. Join and aid us with your strength. With your skills, I am sure it will be a great help to humanity-"

"Cut the shit, ya think I would be interested in helping humanity? I only live for myself and in no way I would join ya'r pity party just because only for a reason like being a goddamn hero and didn't I tell you? I have no plans on going back to those Walls!" Rie spat venomously at Erwin. Her every words is brought out with such a rude attitude.

"What if we have a deal? I'll let you do anything you want just as long you join us in expeditions and follow my orders or just respect me as a commander" Erwin stood up and looked directly at Rie, expecting a response.

Rie only stood there, maybe thinking. She just stood there for so long, the three thought she might've fallen asleep while standing but Rie's head moved to face the three.

The right corner of her mouth lifted, showing her teeth. Rie is smirking "Anything I want? Be it going anywhere I want? Doing Anything I want? Messing with Anyone I want? Having anything I want?... _like information_ " Rie whispered the last part softly .There was silence and Rie, Levi and Hanji stared at Erwin awaiting a reply.

"Yes"

"Deal!"Rie's smirk went wider. _Maybe I can find information about me lying around inside the Walls and just maybe being in the military might have some benefits in order to attain this kind of information. Sure, I'll go back to those Walls but it's worth a risk to take besides I CAN technically still go out_

It wasn't long when Levi stomped his way to Erwin."Oi, Erwin. Are you fucking kidding me? Letting this brat join? This guy can't be trusted"

"Levi, are you doubting my decision? Rie is skilled and I will take anyone who is capable in helping the Survey Corps. But if she does shows any signs of treason,...You'll be able to handle her, can't you? " Levi stayed silent satisfied with replying with a click of his tongue. Rie glared at Erwin at his last statement.

"Oi, you. You said you have no plans of going back then why'd you agree? What's your catch?"Levi glared at Rie who in turn only smirked

" What are you saying? The catch was already mentioned. Me having free reign, there's no better condition than that. I'll go back to those Walls which I don't like yet having the **freedom** to do anything I want with just a simple order to follow Commander's orders, It's worth it."Levi once again only clicked his tongue in response

Hanji observed the two men before making her gaze land on the Silver-haired 16 year old. With a wide grin, Hanji approached Rie.

"Don't mind Levi, He's just being grumpy! Anyway, Welcome to the Survey Corps! It's great to be able to capture titans with you!" Hanji gleefully talked to Rie, whilst the girl herself is confused. _Capture Titans?_

"Oh, Right! Rie, your hair is way too long! You need to cut it. Seriously, With your hair and bangs long like that, I wonder how were you able to kill Titans. You just need to cut your hair short like this and your bangs so that it won't cover your eyes!"Hanji started caressing Rie's hair, pointing at various spots and lifting certain parts including her bangs.

"Ah! No-Wait!" Rie didn't stop Hanji in time. Hanji already lifted her bangs that cover her eyes, making her Crimson eyes free for the three people inside the tent to see.

They were in Silence. The three Survey Corps members stared at the unusual eyes Rie has.

' _Red eyes...'_

Rie also was staring at Hanji, forgetting the fact that her eyes was already shown. Since It was not covered by her hair anymore, She can see things more clearly.

 _'Huh? Hanji...looks like...Angelica...'_

Rie blinked, finally realizing the situation. She gritted her teeth and pushed Hanji away from her.

"GET AWAY!" Hanji's eyes is blinking rapidly, taking in what she just saw. Her hands were still in the air.

"Rie...you're a girl?"

"HAAAHH?!" Rie exclaimed in a rough manner. She glared confusingly at Hanji, don't know whether to get angry or confused at her question

"Of course I am! What kind of man would have a girlish name like Rie?! I thought you already knew couple hours ago?! Don't tell me you didn't know!" Rie shouted at the three present. The three superiors however were all in silence. Hanji was scratching her head while smiling goofily, Levi looked away but you can hear a small click of his tongue and Erwin has his back turned and coughed.

Rie can't believe this. _What the heck is up with the Survey Corps? They're not just only Weird, they're Idiots!_.Rie sighed, tired of this situation.

 _'Ah...they did not comment on my eyes...?'_

"You...do not mind my eyes?"

"What? Are we supposed to make it a big deal? Your eyes are nothing compared to what we see every day in expeditions so don't treat it like it is the most horrific thing we ever saw. Tch, this is why I hate babysitting little brats " Levi commented ,staring at Rie. Rie glared at him with an annoyed face

"I don't need babysitting. And if anyone's little here, It would be you, Midget!" Rie smirked and that made Levi's glare more deadly but it's not affecting Rie if that's what he's expecting. More like, Rie's lips curled to an even wider smirk to provoke him.

 _'That's it! This Girl is dead'_ Levi thought as he approached Rie with plans of beating her up to learn how to respect. Levi stomped his way to Rie and Rie, knowing what's coming next, readied herself. Levi delivered the first attack by a kick aimed at her face but Rie blocked it with her arms but was pushed back a little. Rie, Using her arms, pushed Levi's foot away and leaned her head forward in rapid speed to go for a head bump. Levi sidestepped from Rie's head and since she was bend down, He hit her back with such force that made her lose her balance and was about to lie down face first to the ground. But Rie acted fast and placed her palms on the ground and pushed herself off, performing a back flip, with her feet trying to hit Levi by chance.

The fight between the two still doesn't stop and they went from inside the tent to outside of it, attracting an audience of Survey Corps. Soldiers awed by the fighting style of both opponents. Throughout the fight, Rie always smirks to once again, provoke him which the small corporal hated so much

"Hey! Look at that! It's that Girl!"

"And is she fighting with Corporal Levi?!"

"Whoa . I did not expect someone can be par with Corporal Levi"

Murmurs and cheers were heard from the audience. Most were rooting for Levi(because they might die if he knew they want him to lose) and a few were rooting for Rie(such brave souls).

"Hmm, They're right! Hey, Erwin! You got yourself a jackpot ,huh? No one was able to keep up with Levi like that and, what do you know?, she might give us lots of surprises" Hanji smiled as she observed the two still fighting. Erwin glanced a look at the girl and can't help but smile

"Yes, I think I did "

It was time to head back to the Wall. Luckily for the Survey Corps, they encountered few titans and didn't have any additional casualties. While the soldiers were riding on their horses, Rie was situated together with the luggage. Rie hugged her knees because the cart has little space as it is.

"What am I, a luggage? " Rie muttered annoyed because it was the order of a certain shortie that she was sitting here in a stuffy cart with the damn luggage. Levi's click of the tongue can be heard. He was just right beside the cart ,of course.

"Yeah, damn you are. Unless you learn how to respect your superiors, You will not be treated as a soldier or even a person"

"That's not part of the deal~. Erwin's deal was to respect **him** as a commander and then if I do that, I can do anything, go anywhere, mess with any who, Have anything I want~ Okay? Corporal Levi?~"Rie's voice drawled in a lazy manner that seemed to annoy the corporal more.

"Fine then, You have to respect your superiors too" Erwin suddenly appeared and made a comment but Rie only stared bored at him.

"No can do, Commander Erwin~ You can't change the deal~! You can't change what's already been done, right?" Rie's voice drawled lazily again but in a much more annoying manner

"Then how about this? As a Commander of the Survey Corps, In order to respect me, You need to follow my orders. My first order on you is too respect your superiors. We can't have you disrespecting us in public" Erwin said to the silver-haired girl which did not reply back.

"Tch, If it's like that then it can't be helped. I **won't** disrespect you guys, namely, Commander Erwin, Corporal (shortie-) I mean Levi, and Hanji, **in PUBLIC**. That's it! No changing!" The two men exactly knew what she meant when she emphasized the words "in public" but the girl herself is stubborn and there's no changing what Erwin and She agreed upon.

"Aah~ Man, That guy over there isn't even big or tall enough to be called a person. Why can't he just sit inside this stuffy cart and I'll be the one riding a horse. At least, people won't notice anything weird! I mean, If a tall person like me was on that horse and that small thing over there is sitting inside here, people can't tell any difference at all!"Rie muttered and sighed, still complaining. Unfortunately for her, Levi heard her and knew who she was talking about.

Levi slowed his horse's pace so that he is leveled with the cart. Rie noticed him and looked at him. Levi more or less, glared at her. He kicked the cart so hard it wobbled and the luggage moved around, crushing Rie in between ,who was cursing as she was being suffocated by the heavy luggage around her

"You...ba-...stard!"

 **ey guys! sorry for the late upload, I've been proofreading it countless times to make sure there's no grammatical nor spelling errors but if you do see one, I'm sorry!**

 **BTW,I researched and found out that in the anime, Levi was being called "Heichou/Heicho", right? I saw it means Corporal. I was confused in other fanfics, Why were they calling him "Captain Levi" when it's supposed to be Corporal? I was really confused. Then I researched and found out that Captain is supposed to be "Taichou/Taicho". So from now on ,I'm calling him Corporal Levi which is the right one.**

 **I researched this because I plan to make Rie.."Captain" but since before ,people were calling Levi the Captain and also Corporal, I researched and so yeah! Have a good day/night/or whatever timezone you are in!**

 **btw,I don't know how to write good battles or fights soooo sorry if it's a little confusing or hard to understand**

 **guys sorry for the missing words,no matter how much i edit them in the Doc Manager,It's still like know how to fix it?**

 **R & R !**


	5. Chapter 4: Inside

_"Hey, Come over here!"_

 _"What is it, Rie?"_

 _"Look! Isn't she cute? Mother said she got it from her friend for me but I said it's for both of us!"_

 _"Huh? Rie, the horse IS pretty but your Mom got it for YOU ,right? So it's yours only! No need to share it with me"_

 _"No way! I told you, right? What's mine is yours! You don't have to be so polite about it"_

 _"...If you say so..._

 _...you know...I'm really lucky to have you as my friend Rie...Please...Don't leave my side"_

 _"...What makes you think I will? Of course ,I won't! You're the most special person I've ever met, Raven!"_

* * *

Rie opened her eyes to see the sight of the blue sky and the rays of the sun shining down on her and stinging her eyes. She sat up and covered the sun's rays with her right arm. She took a moment to observe her surroundings. The Survey Corps. Soldiers on horseback.

'Hm. We're still outside? How long did I sleep? Ah. I'm still inside this wagon'

Rie blankly looked in front of her unable to think at the moment. Her body swayed back and forth, occasionally hitting her head on the boxes around her. After a short while, she regained her composure, and took another look at her surroundings.

"Are you awake?" Rie looked to her side to see Erwin's horse and he himself right beside the wagon. 'He's supposed to be in front of the formation, right?'

Rie leaned her body to the right to get a look on who is in front. She saw Hanji far away. Way too far from the formation. Ah. She's leading the group to a titan she saw...Oh, that guy who is always with her stopped her.

She returned to her position and turned her head once again to face Erwin.

"Ya think?"Erwin nodded

"It's time. We're nearing Wall Rose" He said and turned his head in front of him. Rie also did and saw the Giant Wall in the distance.

'The uncomfortable feeling came back to me...I'm going back to those Walls..Uggghh, Rie, there's no turning back now. Ya already agreed. This is for information. In order to know more about the outside, I joined the Survey Corps. That's worth the risk of being uncomfortable inside the Walls'

"Rie?" Erwin spoke when she didn't see Rie speak nor move and looks...pale?.Rie did shifted a little when he heard Erwin's voice and nodded stiffly. Erwin stared for a moment before ordering soldiers to cover the luggage and Rie with a wide green cloth.

The cloth covered the Sun's warm rays and Rie only felt the cool air which made her relax. The slightly darker surroundings helped her to forget the uncomfortable feeling in her body. She closed her eyes for a moment remembering the earlier conversation between her and Erwin before she slept.

* * *

" _What are you going to do once we reach the Walls? I'm pretty sure those Wall Soldiers can find a new face when they see one. They'll still be able to report me back to their superiors" Rie asked the commander, finally was able to push back the heavy crate in front of her._

 _"We'll sneak you in. We don't have to announce you in public. As soon as we're getting near Wall Rose, we'll cover you, together with the luggage, with a thick cover. That way, We are able to get pass the Garrison soldiers. Once we're inside, we'll bring you straight to our HQ. I'll say this now before anything happens...Once you are inside our HQ ,you are not allowed to go out nor talk to others except for us. We are trying to sneak you in order for you to not be publicly known as someone who survived outside the Walls so you will not face the trial."Erwin stared at Rie seriously as if saying to take the plan seriously and to not fess up_

 _"Alright. So,...What are you guys supposed to do while I'm locked up inside your HQ?" She shrugged and pointed a curious look at the Commander._

 _"We are going to search for your records. Possibly you are still in the 'missing' list. We know someone who can alter your records, He can just say there that you went to military training who just graduated early because of outstanding results and you ended up choosing Survey Corps"_

 _"Huh, I can't believe even the records can possibly be a lie too "Rie snorted "Altering of Records..Ya mean that friend o' yours, works for the Deltora Family*? Ya know, that organization that is only made up of the members of Deltora Family, They hold all the records and all the information of all people inside the Walls?" She once again shot a curious look at Erwin._

 _"Not really, He is only the Head of the smaller branches of the Deltora Family"_

 _"Hm. So it's only the public records. Records that can change based on the people's evidences, either being witnesses or physical evidence. It can either be true or a lie unlike the Deltora Family where the true facts are stated in their records. That's why they are called the information center but in order for them to help you ,either getting information from them or any task at all, you have to pay a high price that not even the most richest of civilians in Wall Sina can afford or another way is to give them new information which is impossible since all information about the Walls are already theirs so I kind of understand why you guys can only ask help from your friend."Erwin only nodded wondering to himself what made Rie suddenly become talkative_

 _"With the guy we know who can alter your record do his job, you are clear to go. After we tell you that you are good to go, that is only the time you can go outside, understand?"_

 _"Of course, Commander" she lazily did her salute and her tone of voice displayed sarcasm but Erwin let it go, knowing she would still follow the plan._

 _"Oh and one more thing" Erwin said loudly since Rie had her back turned now and seems preparing to take a nap, only a shift of her body signified that she was still awake and so Erwin continued._

 _"Do you have any family inside the Walls?...Or any other people who might know you? If you do and you happens to run into them, Please say that you only survived alone INSIDE the Walls and you just planned to take Military Training." Erwin waited for her head to nod...but no response was given. Erwin thought to himself that maybe it was fine since her sister is already...dead and if she has other family then they would surely brought her to escape to Wall Rose ,so he assumed the girl already lost her only family._

 _Unbeknownst to him, Rie was still wide awake .She heard him perfectly but doesn't want to answer the question. Slowly ,she drifted off to unconsciousness._

* * *

Rie opened her eyes once again and heard the familiar sound of the gate opening. She peeked a little at the side. They are already nearing the Wall. Just a little bit more. Here it is. As soon as the wagon, containing Rie and the luggage, entered inside the Wall, Rie held her breath at the familiar discomfort.

'Ah..It's so easy to tell the difference of the air inside and outside the Wall. Truly disgusting.' Rie's mood soured. She shifted countless times inside the Wagon to remove the discomfort that is stronger than before. She really feels like a dog who was captured and tied to a single area. Maybe she were. She was just been captured by the Survey Corps. and was being tied to these Walls again...but she would never admit that. She's not a dog, She's a human being. She would never let them think that she was on a tight leash no matter how the situation currently shows it.

"Huh? Aren't they getting lesser and lesser?"

"Commander Erwin! You're still returning empty-handed once again?! Do you think the lives that are wasted today worth it!?"

"YOU SURVEY CORPS are just sacrificing bodies to the Titans!"

And the crowd goes wild with anger and confusion. Rie stared at them with a dark expression. She's so speechless about how much nothing has changed.

'How nostalgic. They're still annoying as ever.'

Rie said but the thought reminded her of the time where Eren also hit a bald man with a stick because he was badmouthing the Survey Corps. Rie snickered. Good thing, Mikasa was there or train of thought stopped suddenly. Realizing what she just said, She felt depressed and hopeless but still keeping her blank face. She could not even hear the loudness of the crowd and by the minute getting quiet.

"Oi, We're here" Rie did not even feel the cover being lifted off and the voice of Levi calling her. She just sat there all quiet trying to fight off the sadness that is about make it's way to her face. Levi raised an eyebrow and shook the wagon(because he cannot reach her).Rie blinked a couple times before realizing they were already in a tall brown castle-like structure.

"Are you dead?"Levi pushed the wagon once again but this time with more power making Rie lose her balance. Rie glared at Levi.

"Ya wish" She commented as she got off from the wagon and was following Erwin and Hanji into the HQ with Levi following behind.

"I still do"

"Then maybe it's not working? For you, at least" Rie followed Erwin and Hanji into a room, guessing it was hers . The two were just watching her and Levi bicker once again.

"Maybe it just needs time"

"You wanna bet, O Captain Levi~?" She smirked, saying his name in an annoying sing-song voice. Erwin and Hanji stepped in to stop it as if sensing another brawl to out and they both don't want any of the furniture inside the room to break.

"That's enough, you two. Rie, this is your room now. You will stay here for the time being. Wait for us to come back and tell you if it is fine to go out now. Also while you're here, why don't you cut your hair now? Your uniform will be delivered later, a woman will come by here to check your measurements. Please do follow the plan and my orders. Do not go out." Erwin reminded her once again in which Rie just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I know so just go already" She said ,waving her hands shooing them away. Erwin nodded and closed the door. She can barely hear Hanji's excited voice saying that she wants to return earlier to get a good look at Rie. She can hear their footsteps getting farther and then it was silence. She lied down on her bed and let out a tired sigh. Her tense shoulders wouldn't relax though. When she was outside, she was much more relaxed. Well, Relax as she can be without the titans coming after her life. the discomfort is still there and she guessed she's going to live through this again.

She sat up from her bed and scanned her room. It was fairly nice. Not too much stuff. It has a bookshelf and a desk. There's also a mirror at the side. There's a candle lamp beside the bed. The bathroom was just on the right side of the room. Beside the bed, there's a window. The view is also kind of nice. Forests. She can use that for training purposes. After observing for quite a while, she's started to get bored.

Reminded of what Erwin said earlier, she took a bath(which she appreciated much) and changed her clothes since the woman who was supposed to check her measurements and deliver her uniform is still not here. She grabbed the scissors on the desk and faced the mirror.

"Whoa. Hanji was right. It looks messy and the lengths are different from one another making a zigzag line. Ugh, I can't believe I look like this." Rie said as she started cutting her hair. First, she tried cutting her hair on the back. She made it at neck's length. Rie just left the other hair strands that are too short. Next, she cuts her bangs. After cutting a good half, she arranged it. Once she's done ,she looked at herself. She looks decent now but...they're not really going to say anything about her eyes?...

"Ugh. Who cares anymore. Why do I even worry? The only reason I worry about this was when I was a kid. I thought that if people find me creepy because of my eyes, they would spread rumors and it will also affect Angelica too. She's not here anymore .I have no reason to worry about their opinion on me" Rie said while her thoughts went to 'Well It's a habit I have to forget'.

A knock on the door broke her from her thoughts. Rie straightened her back and went to open the door. She turned the knob and pulled open the door, what greeted her was a woman shorter than her. She has light brown hair that is tied to a twin braid. Her nervous brown eyes widened in surprise at Rie. She was carrying a lot of stuff, well it's just mostly uniforms in different sizes.

The woman stared at Rie who just waited for the woman to do her job. The stacks of uniforms she held in her arms almost fell when Rie grabbed it. Blinking, the woman seemed to realize what she came here for and immediately laid down the uniforms in the bed.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It's just that...What my other teammates said was true...you do have crimson-colored eyes" She said as she glanced at her from time to time ,Rie noticed she's a little bit nervous around her. Rie snorted in her mind at the thought.

"Let's get this over with" Rie's tone was more like commanding and the woman only nodded. She measured Rie's body without talking and Rie was also as quiet.

"It's done! Uhm, let's see" The woman looked at the paper that contained Rie's measurements and scanned through the uniforms placed on the bed. With one last look, she nodded to herself and grabbed a uniform that seemed like a perfect fit for Rie " Here it is! Your uniform! How about you...try it out and just look for me if there's anything you want to change"

With that said, the woman gathered the pile of uniforms and left Rie's room quickly. Rie stared at the door which the woman just left and finally glanced at her new uniform.

'I never thought I would be able to wear this...I mean, I thought I would be living Outside the Walls forever not that it's such a bad thing but...we did promise each other we'd join...right, Eren? Armin? Even Mikasa? even though I won't see you wear this'

Rie closed her eyes and once again headed for the bathroom to change.

* * *

"Here it is"

A man no older than 40 emerged from the curtains and placed a folder filled with documents on the counter in front of Erwin. He held a cigarette on his right hand and after presenting the folder to his guests he took it to his mouth and after releasing a big puff of smoke.

The three was inside the office of the Head of the small branches who held the public records. They did confronted their 'friend' and asked him to change Rie's records so that it wouldn't be suspicious when the higher ups tried to investigate her.

"Silver hair. Red eyes. Rie..That's her..I changed her missing status and wrote down that she enlisted in the military after escaping after the fall of Wall Maria" The man said opening the file and a handmade portrait of Rie was the first to show up along with big letters of her full name

"Rie Vricht?"Erwin confirmed in which the man only nodded "She said she had a sister. Can you look for it?"The man grunted and went back inside the back room to look for what he asked. In the meantime ,Erwin opened the document.

"Any information?"Levi asked not moving from his position, leaning on a wall, since a while ago. Hanji also gave Erwin a curious look.

"Hm...nothing really special.."Erwin said as he flipped page after page. The previous pages only told what her basic life is, her hometown, Her interests...just basic information but Erwin stopped on a page.

"What is it?~"Hanji exclaimed

" Witnesses saw that she always goes to a forest where she would practice shooting her gun" Erwin read out loud after receiving no commentary, he continued.

" Rie Vricht is always seen together with Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert..In the afternoon, she would walk to a forest where she shoots at trees. "Erwin took note to ask the records of the three named persons.

Flipping another set of pages, he stopped once again "Rie, at the age of 11, killed three child traffickers together with Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman"

"Ohhh~ Does that mean she have a 'justice shall be delivered' kind of thinking?. I wonder if she joined us because of that thinking as well?" Hanji commented tapping on her chin as her smile grew wide

"Like naive little shits?"

"Don't be like that, Levi! What do you know, I may be wrong~! As I told Erwin, She might surprise us. I mean she is on par with you" Hanji looked at Levi, smirking.

"Tch. Like damn she is."

"Here you go!"The man said with another document in hand, interrupting the verbal fight between the two. He laid it again on the counter and waited for any other requests. Erwin took the document and flipped it's pages also.

"...Angelica Vricht..rumored to be from Wall Sina but she herself proved it false...Adopted Rie Vricht..?"Erwin stared at the man but he only shrugged his shoulders knowing what his question is.

"Rie Vricht's adopted but Angelica Vricht never mentioned where she came from and I doubt the adopted child herself knew also and Angelica Vricht is already dead as mentioned by Rie Vricht to you so that's a dead end for that mystery"

"I see...anyway, thank you for this. if it's not too much trouble, can you give me some information about Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert?"

"Hm..From what I can remember from their records... Eren Jaeger's father is famous for curing the disease long ago. Armin Arlert is his best friend which they met because of their parents*.As for Mikasa Ackerman, She was supposed to be sold by child traffickers but Eren Jaeger and Rie Vricht killed the child traffickers and the Jaeger family took in Mikasa as an adoptive. I think it was reported by the military police who arrived at the scene of the crime that they found the corpses stabbed multiple times that they find it unbelievable for children to do that."The man said who refused to grab another set of documents.

"...Thank you, that is enough." Erwin said as he left the man's office who grunted at his guests. The three officers walked in silence going to the path of the HQ.

* * *

"Oh. You're back"

Rie said, her head turned to the three just arrived officers. As soon as they entered, they saw Rie sitting on a chair , in front of the window, holding her gun and making the trees targets which caused the three to rush inside her room once they heard gunshots.

"You were taking too long so I entertained myself by shooting some trees" Rie added turning her head back to aim at the poor trees again.

"Pardon us for the wait. We successfully altered the contents of your profile. If you wish to see, here it is" Erwin stepped near to Rie who stopped shooting at the trees with bullet marks and grabbed the file from the commander. She flipped through pages and frowned at some contents of her own profile.

"May I ask who were Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert that was mentioned in your profile?" Erwin took notice of the dark look Rie has on her face.

" It's obvious already if you read my profile. They were my friends"

" I'm aware."Erwin short answer made Rie notice that he wants her to continue to tell about herself

"I'm sorry commander if you're expecting me to say more but I won't"

"why not?"

"Commander" Rie stared at Erwin with a dark expression "You are invading my private "space". It is a personal question" Like she gives a damn about personal space, it's just a roundabout way to say that Rie doesn't trust them.

"We did have an agreement ,did we not? That you are free to do what you want as long as you respect me as a commander and I did mention that respecting me involves following my orders"

"I can play respect all you want but don't expect me to really and honestly do it...same goes with my trust. You are the commander and I am just a newly recruited soldier. It is my personal life so I don't just share it with "strangers"."Rie finished, still glaring at Erwin.

"Is that so? Well, I apologize for my rudeness, then" Erwin's eyes held a strange gleam as he looked at Rie.

"No, I should be the one apologizing for my rudeness, _commander_ " Rie's eyes also held the strange gleam and her tone was no doubt sarcastic. After a few moments of silent staring, Rie walked past Erwin before facing him once again.

"Oh, you did say earlier that after you're done with changing my record then i can go out, right?... If you will allow me?" Rie added a respectful tone with a hint of obvious sarcasm

"If Levi will accompany you. Be reminded that you are to go back here by noon. You will start training tomorrow" Erwin did not fail to see the twitch in both Levi and Rie's eyes and the look they gave him.

" **thank you** , **Commander** " Rie forced a respectful tone ,sensing some soldiers just around the corner, but find it hard because of the condition. She walked away with Levi following suite.

"Erwin, you're awfully quiet , not that you are always, but right now, you're kind of...giving an uncomfortable vibe?"Hanji mentioned once Rie and Levi left Rie's room. Erwin did not give a response..

"Am I? Maybe I was just surprised."

"Why?"

"Hm. I'm not sure...She doesn't trust us, that is to be expected."

"Hoh~" She hummed

"Hm...She is certainly not like the other soldiers who I can get information from their personal life just because I asked them to because in their eyes', I'm a high-ranking officer who needs to get what he needs and wants that is why, I think, they follow my every order but in Rie's eyes, I am just a stranger, nothing more, nothing less. "

" So...should we have Levi "ask" Rie for it?" Hanji's glasses shone under the sunlight as he looked up to Erwin with a wide smile.

"So you've noticed it too. There's bound to be something up with her and I think it could be big. We shouldn't let Levi handle this one. I think no matter how much pain and torture she have to endure, she will never let herself fail her goal. We have to wait for her to warm up to us."

* * *

Rie and Levi are walking together through towns. They're not really going anywhere specific. Rie herself plans to just wander around, observing with Levi in tow.

"Oi, what was that earlier?" Having enough of the endless wandering and the silence, Levi decided to bring up Rie and Erwin's confrontation that happened in her room. (A/n: That sounded something else)

" I mean what I said earlier, I have no intention of sharing my personal life with someone who I just met or someone I have business-relations to. Commander Erwin is the Commander of Survey Corps, You are Corporal Levi, I am Cadet Vricht. We are all in the Survey Corps. That is all we need to know about each other...Corporal Levi " Rie hesitantly added the last part but according to the agreement, she is to respect them..in public.

"Tch. What if your own personal information may help us?"

" I apologize for answering back to you ,Corporal Levi but I fail to see how **my** personal information could be of use to reclaiming lands outside the walls or even defeat titans."Rie suddenly stopped in her tracks which made Levi look back at her to see her staring at a store that sells apples.

"Although, if you wish to know survival information when I was outside the Walls..or even how I'd live outside the Walls, then I'd be willing to share it with you but it is your choice whether to believe what i say or not..." Rie looked back to Levi and pointed to the apples. Levi with a click of his tongue made his way to buy the silver-haired girl some apples.

* * *

 ***Armin Arlert is his best friend which they met because of their parents*:For this one,I think i read another manga, by Isayama ofc , that said that the two met because of their parents.I forgot what the title 'bout that~!**

 **Yeah, sorry but I have to cut if off from here~!**

 **Maybe you've noticed but I only update this fanfic monthly,I'm sure you've already know the usual reasons: school. High school is hard. T-T**

 **I think it took so long to get this chapter out so I don't want to delay it any furthur.**

 **Any who, are you guys okay with this chapter? Cuz I feel like i just bullshit my way through Rie and Erwin's verbal fight? I just want to show that she does not trust people she don't know that easily.**

 **Oh! Also, I was wondering if you guys want next chapter to be a flashback chapter when Rie and Eren met Mikasa and saved her. Of course, It would lightly explain why Rie has an overly attachment to Mikasa. I say lightly because, truth be told, it got something to do with her past so to avoid spoiling of her past early in the story, It would just lightly explain her affection to Mikasa.**

 **That's all for now! Pls Rate and Review~!**


	6. Chapter 4: Sisters (Flashback Chapter)

FLASHBACK CHAPTER

Yea~! I decided to do the Mikasa flashback chapter! I got inspired by a few reviews there~!

As so, I would **LOVE** to mention you guys!

 **WolfQueen123** : Thank you for the compliment and the review! I appreciate it, really!

 **Demonwolf333** : Thank you for the wonderful review! I really appreciate that you gave your opinion about my OC and her relationships with others especially Levi! As per your request, Here's the flashback chapter! I hope you enjoy this as well~!

 **Monsta-starr** : Thank you for the review~. I appreciate that you want me to update as soon as possible which makes me happy since that means you enjoy my story!

Thank you to these three who reviewed! I hope I won't let your expectations of this story go to waste with that let's get on with the chapter~

p.s Rie is now 11 years old in this since Eren and Mikasa are both 9 when they first met each other. Rie is two years older than Eren, Mikasa and Armin.

* * *

"And you're done for today"

Rie panted as she finished training using her gun. Right now, she is together with Dr. Jaeger conducting their daily "check- ups".

"I don't mean to question your methods,dr. Jaeger , but... how does training me makes my memories show up?" It is no secret to Dr Jaeger anymore about Rie's Amnesia. Angelica was the one who told him about her when he suddenly showed up in front of their door and exchanged a few words with Angelica.

 _'Angelica said that he is someone who can help me recover my memories but I find it weird that he doesn't give off a familiar feeling'_

dr. Jaeger initiated these "daily check-ups" to make me , in some way , remember even a tiniest bit. Some days he asks me what could I see sometimes in my unconsciousness or what makes my head hurt. Now that, I understand how it can help me but... on some occasions , he trains me usually using my gun which he gave on our first day of check-up. That . I find hard to understand.

"Didn't I already told you before? You did say that when you fought those bullies back then, you defended yourself without knowing why but you felt like you've been doing it for years. This may have something to do with what you used to always do in the past. Same goes with your gun. You felt like it was a treasure so I made you train with it. Rie, memories are not truly forgotten..you cannot just remember it right now. If I make you do tasks that may be connected to your past then it might stimulate your brain to make you remember your memories"

"I see" Rie replied ,nodding her head but truthfully some words went over her head and so she just continued to pack up.

"Oh, I forgot to remind you. We will not meet tomorrow. I have a scheduled patient for a check-up so you don't have to come here tomorrow" Dr Jaeger mentioned while also packing his own things.

Receiving no reply, Dr. Jaeger glanced a look at the young girl who only stared at him with her red eyes, filled with curiosity. He inwardly sighed knowing the girl's thoughts.

"Eren's coming with me too tomorrow. Maybe you would like to join?" Rie was surprised by his offer. She only wanted to ask him how does he do his work after all but this is also okay.

"Eren is?...Okay"

* * *

"Huh, Rie? What are you doing here? Didn't Dad tell you he has a patient today so he can't meet up with you" Eren answered the door when a knock was heard from it. As soon as he opened it, He saw Rie dressed in her winter clothes.

"Didn't Dr. Jaeger tell you? I'd be joining you guys"

"Huh.. Is that so" Eren looked away from Rie as if there was something in his mind.

"Why? What is it?"Rie leaned to Eren's face. Narrowing her eyes at Eren as if solving a puzzle.

"N-nothing! " Eren backed away from the close distance of Rie's face.

"Ah! Rie, You're just in time. We're about to head over to the Ackerman's place" Dr. Jaeger came into Rie's eye view who is fixing his hat. The three head over to the carriage and rode in it.

"A...cker...man?"

"The Ackerman family. They're my patients for today, Rie. They scheduled a check up from me" The two kids stayed silent but their question was still not answered. Why? Did someone have an illness? or maybe had an accident?. Although they feel like now matter how many times they try to ask, It will still not be mentioned.*

After a few hours, it was already getting dark when they arrived at the wooden brown house. Rie was getting an uncomfortable vibe from the house. It was way too silent. Not a thing can be heard. Not even a tiniest of sound.

"Mr. Ackerman? This is Dr. Jaeger! Mr. Ackerman" Dr. Jaeger called and knocked on the door but no one replied. He noticed the door wasn't even locked and so he opened the door. The scene inside the house made him stiff which made Eren curious to look.

Seeing as the two didn't say a single word, Rie also got curious on what they saw. When she looked ,the scene surprised her. A man was the first thing she saw since he was at the doorway, stabbed in the chest. Blood stained his clothes and also dripping from his mouth. Just a little bit behind him was a woman. Her head was sliced open and so blood covered her clothes as well as the walls and floor of the home of what was once, she thought, was a happy family.

"Urk" Rie suddenly kneeled down and held her head. Her expression is filled with pain. Her reaction caused the father and son to look at her.

"Rie? What's happening?!" Eren exclaimed while held her as if to help calm her down. Rie didn't find the scene traumatic nor disgusting. In fact, she felt like it was natural to see things like that and she don't even know why she thought of that.

But...The mere sight of blood scattered everywhere. Even it's smell, made her remember. Made her remember something painful . As for what that was, It made her head hurt like hell.

"Nothing... at..all. Just..Headaches" She answered gritting through her teeth.

"Eren, stay with Rie. I'm going inside to investigate" With that, Dr. Jaeger entered the house leaving Eren with Rie. Eren not knowing how to calm Rie down just sat beside her.

"Hey...You okay?"

"...I know there's something wrong with me when YOU, of all people, are comforting me" She took a heavy sigh and looked at the forest in front of them, her face slightly relaxed but the slight pain was still evident.

"Wha- Fine! Never mind then!" He looked away from her and just stared at the forest in front of them.

" _Just kidding"_ Rie whispered the last part and it seems Eren did not hear it.

"That's surprising..I didn't expect for the demon-girl to be scared of..that." Eren smirked at the silver haired girl who glared at him in return. Rie hates it when Eren teases her.(A/N:Okaaayyy,imsorrybutIhaveapervertedmind)She also hates it when Eren uses the nicknames the old bullies used to call her.

"Who told you I was scared of that? I was having headaches"

Suddenly, Dr. Jaeger ran out of the house and hurriedly grabbed the two and walked back to their carriage.

"You two ,Stay Here . Don't go anywhere else . I'm going to call the military police" said to the two who got confused of his actions.

"The military police ? What for? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Mikasa, their child, disappeared. She's most likely been kidnapped...by Child traffickers ,I presume. She has Asian blood inside of her after all. Those child traffickers must have stopped to rest nearby seeing as the snow is piling up." He is already on the horse and is about to depart

"Kidnapped?! By child traffickers?! Dad, they won't get here in time! By the time they arrived, That Mikasa girl is done for!" Eren exclaimed

"Then I'd better hurry then! Anyways! Don't do anything rash, Eren! Rie, keep him in line!" Dr. Jaeger said and departed as fast as he could leaving the two kids behind.

The two just stood in silence for a moment until Eren started walking to opposite direction of the house.

"Where do you think are you going? Playing the role of the hero again?"Rie grabbed his wrist stopping him from going anywhere.

"Let go"

"Do you think I would?"

"That Mikasa girl would be gone by the time those military police arrives! and They don't even care if a child dies! They just care of being known as "heroes" just because they captured some criminals!" Eren pulled his arm away from Rie's hold and shouted.

"And ya think you can do better?! Eren! This is not your ordinary bullies that seeks fights, These are Adults that are criminals capable of killing you! D'ya think it will be that easy to win against them?! Heck, ya can't even win against such weak bullies, How are ya sure you can save this Mikasa girl, huh?!" Rie shouted at him, grabbing tightly onto his shoulders

"I...can do it..no..I WILL do it. If I don't try, then nothing will happen! I WILL save Mikasa!"Eren glared at Rie and likewise Rie.

She closed her eyes and sighed.

She started walking to the direction Eren was headed to earlier.

"Stubborn brat."

"H-Huh?! Rie, YOU don't have to come! You might be killed!"Eren catched up with the now walking Rie

"Sorry not sorry Eren but I'm worried more about you getting killed at the first moment rather than me plus told me to keep you in line" She snickered at Eren. The sentence made Eren silent.

"If there's one good thing about you, Eren..That would be your Determination..although the rest are all bad like right now, you're so suicidal" She commented but received no reply and so she glanced at Eren who is behind her. She saw he was thinking about something and finally he looked up to her.

"So...you were worried for me?" That made Rie stop. Eren could not see her face but he saw her ears getting red from embarrassment.

"That's it! YOU'RE staying here! Don't come with me!"She shouted as she kicked aimlessly at Eren.

* * *

"Is that it?" Eren asked Rie pointing at a cabin, seemingly empty.

"Yeah ,I think it is. Look, their footprints stop there. How stupid are they?, leaving footprints behind.."Rie commented and approached the cabin with Eren following. Rie peeked through the window and saw three figures.

"Two guys. One is holding a gun. I assume the girl lying on the floor with her hands and feet tied up is Mikasa" Rie told Eren as she gave him a small knife and held one knife for herself.

"We need a plan before we-"

"Screw that! I don't do plans" Rie half-shouted at him and ran up to the front door. Eren followed her but was stopped by none other than Rie, whose head and ear leaned on the door.

"Okay, here's the plan"

"I thought you don't do plans"

"Anyways, the plan is... I open the door, the unarmed one approaches the door, assuming the leader is the one with the gun. We pretend to be children who are lost, I kill the guy right at the door, close the door before the guy with the gun shoots and when he opens the door, you kill him. Got that?"Rie asked Eren who reluctantly nodded at their plan.

"Okay, here goes!"

The door opened with a loud creak and the two men looked in alarm at the door but relaxed once they found two kids.

"Oh..Sorry, Mister.. We.. We're lost and we just found this cabin..so.." Rie said her head down, not letting the two men see her eyes. She put on the best scared voice she can manage but truthfully she was giggling.

"Oh, is that so?" The unarmed one, as Rie expected, approached the door and bended down to their height. "That's no good! Getting lost in this big forest!"

"Gotcha" Rie said in which the man found confusing, mostly because her scared voice is not evident anymore. Rie sliced a thin line on his neck and the man shocked looked at Rie, holding his bleeding neck.

Rie looked up to smile at the man. Upon seeing her wide almost maniacal smile and her red eyes, the man backed away but not to long after, Rie jumped on the man. The said man fell to the floor on his back, with Rie on top of him, hovering a gleaming knife over his head.

The leader could not believe what he is seeing. His companion getting stabbed multiple times by a kid, _a girl no less!_ .Knowing he is in danger, he pointed a gun at Rie. Rie , noticing the familiar click of a gun, stared at the man and smirked as if asking him to shoot, that is if he can kill her.

The man was about to pull the trigger when Eren emerged from the open door. His knife attached at the end of a wooden stick. He stabbed the man straight through the chest. Eren removed his knife from the wooden stick and stabbed the man in the chest over and over again. Rie glanced a look at the kidnapped girl and noticed she was awake the whole time.

Once Eren was satisfied, He stood up and went over to Mikasa and cut the ropes that tied her. Mikasa sat up and rubbed her wrists. Rie only stared at her, contemplating her face.

"They're dead. You are safe now" Eren said to the girl

"Good job, Eren. I thought you wouldn't be able to do it" She smacked forcefully on Eren's back which made him lose his balance and fall straight flat to the floor but almost immediately, he recovered and stood up.

"You didn't even follow your own plan!"

"I told you I don't do plans" The two suddenly looked at Mikasa who whispered something.

"There were three"

Suddenly, a thud was heard. The three looked at the direction of the sound. There was another man. Rie acted quickly and reached for the knife on the ground but the tall man was quicker. He kicked Rie at full force and held Eren by the neck. He stepped at Rie's chest, preventing her from moving and quickly crushing her ribs. Rie tried breaking free but further movement only increased the pain. She tried reaching for the knife that was only at her fingertips but was unable to hold onto.

"Fight!" Rie heard Eren say through gritted teeth. "Fight! If you win, you live. If you lose, you die. If you don't fight, you can't win!"

Rie ,knowing who he was talking to, flicked the knife to Mikasa's position. The girl, grabbed the knife and slowly stood up. She tries to control herself. Then a shout was heard, the girl headed straight for the man, breaking the floorboards in the process, and stabbed him.

* * *

"Eren, I told you two to not go anywhere else and not to do anything rash!" Dr. Jaeger arrived at the scene with two military police, although arriving after three hours.

"I just merely disposed of some beasts. Mere animals that looks like humans" Eren said to his father who inwardly sighed and turned to Rie.

"Rie,I told you to keep him in line"

"I did. That's why I accompanied him to keep him **in line** " Rie shrugged ,her gaze still on Mikasa.

Dr. Jaeger wants to face palm himself from the actions of the two kids. Instead, he walked over to Mikasa and comforted her.

"Are you okay , Mikasa? If you would like.. we can adopt you into the Jaeger family" Mikasa surprised at the offer but only nodded. She shivered at the cold, she rubbed her hands and her arms to keep warm. Suddenly, a red scarf wrapped around her face, she stared at Eren.

"That should keep you warm"

"T-thank you"

Rie approached Mikasa and she, in turn , stared at Rie. Mostly Rie's eyes.

' _Her eyes..it's beautiful'_ She stared in awe at her eyes which Rie noticed but instead of getting shy, she paid it no mind since she's used to people staring at her "unique" eyes.

Her face contorted into a frown the longer she stares at Mikasa.

'She definitely reminds me of someone..Someone important to me...she looks like her, she sounds like her..but..why can't I remember her name?! I can only see fragments..' she stopped thinking when she felt her brain about to explode. Her head hurts more than the usual headaches.

"Hey..You" Mikasa perked up when she heard her talking.

"Have we...met before?" Mikasa stared in confusion at her question, so is Eren . Dr. Jaeger seemed to notice what she meant by that.

"I don't think so"..'I _would remember seeing such pretty eyes but it's my first time seeing it_ " Mikasa thought to herself.

"I see..Were you scared?...Were you hopeless? "Rie is surprised to find herself, COMFORTING someone or even asking about how she feels. She never really cared about other's feelings, except for Angelica's but the girl attracted Rie. She feels like it's natural and it's her duty to care for her. Maybe because she looked like **her**. Rie stopped thinking about it again once sensing another headache.

"I was just a little bit" Mikasa looked down. She noticed Rie moving in front of her. Rie crouched down to her level.

"Is that so? Well, You're going to be fine now. I'll protect you" Rie smiled. Not the usual fake smile but it's a sincere smile. A smile that made Mikasa calm.

Eren was just as surprised as his father. Rie never smiled that way before. No, he did see it once before when he first met her but after that, her smiles were never really sincere anymore. In fact, It was only smirks and sarcastic smiles.

Rie hugged Mikasa which Mikasa returned also. Another thing that made Eren surprised. Rie ,she herself said, that she doesn't like physical affection. Well ,at least he got to see this side of hers. Dr. Jaeger and the three kids got into the carriage and went home.

* * *

"Rie..why are you here?" The next day, after her training, Rie went with Dr Jaeger to his home. Eren opened the door and surprised to see Rie who is smiling so happily that it creeps Eren out.

"To visit Mikasa, of course!" Rie entered the Jaeger's home after saying her greetings to Eren's mother, Carla. Hearing her name called by a familiar voice, Mikasa, who was upstairs , rushed down to greet the visitor.

"Rie! " Mikasa called smiling at the silver haired girl at the doorway. Rie's face almost lit up at the sight of her and greeted her with a smile.

"Mikasa! How are you doing here? Is Eren doing something bad or even enslaving you?" Eren whipped his head to Rie's direction and glared.

" I DO NOT!" He shouted

"No, Eren and his family is treating me well. I'm thankful to them..and to you, of course!"Mikasa smiled at her.

" I see, You're so cute Mikasa!" Rie complimented and Mikasa blushed at it. The two girls kept conversing with each other.

Eren inwardly sighed. Rie's visits will be more frequent ,it would seem.

* * *

Hey, Hey! Yeah, I told you it would just lightly explain why Rie's attracted to Mikasa. Apparently, Mikasa LOOKS and SOUNDS like someone important from her past but she can't remember her name!

 ***"The Ackerman family. They're my patients for today, Rie. They scheduled a check up from me" The two kids stayed silent but their question was still not answered. Why? Did someone have an illness? or maybe had an accident?. Although they feel like now matter how many times they try to ask, It will still not be mentioned.*** About this, has anyone ever knew why visited the Ackermans that day? Was it because someone was sick? but when we saw the flashback story of Mikasa ,the family seemed perfectly healthy. Maybe it was mentioned but I already forgot about it.

THANKS FOR THE ONES WHO REVIEWED~

R&R


	7. Chapter 5: Training

In an open field, the 107th trainees are practicing one-on-one combat. Two particular trainees are dueling. A girl who has short black hair easily flips the 14-year old boy who has brown hair to the ground.

The boy hit the ground in frustration and noticed the woman lending a helping hand. Instead of taking it, he swatted it away and stood up by himself, dusting off any dirt on his uniform.

"I can stand up on my own, Mikasa." The boy said to her before walking away, Mikasa blankly looked at the stomping boy as if she heard this a million times, she followed him.

"Why are you following me?" The boy asked, glancing at Mikasa, with annoyance visible in his face.

" So you don't get into fights again, Eren" Mikasa replied thinking about how he always fights a certain person whose name she don't really care about. All that matters is he doesn't get into fights, she did promised his mother after all to take care of him if he went too far in his recklessness.

Eren stopped walking and faced Mikasa and she also stopped. The 5-second silence was enough for Mikasa to know where the conversation is going again and she also needs to explain it to him..again.

" I'm not a kid anymore , Mikasa! Stop treating me like one! " He shouted ,some trainees looked at them and some only ignored them. Maybe because they do this almost daily. Some even teased Eren that Mikasa's his babysitter when they heard what they were fighting about.

" I am not treating you like a kid. I'm just making sure you're out of trouble" Despite Eren's loud voice, Mikasa did not raise her voice.

" Yeah, right! By coddling me?! I can do things on my own!"

" And when you're on your own, You always get into trouble "

" No ,I don't! And even if I did, I can get out of it easily! I don't need you helping me!"

" Eren , Mikasa . Are you at this again?" Armin ran towards them after losing his duel with Reiner. He saw them about to fight again and so he went to them to stop it. He sighed and smiled at them trying to ease off the frustration of the other party.

Eren , seeing Armin stopping them ,realizing it's going to earn him another teasing from the other trainees, stopped talking and was about to walk away and get some food but Mikasa spoke again, her head hung low.

" You can't blame me, Eren... I... We already lost Rie... I can't handle losing you too" Mikasa's voice was quiet and low but Eren and Armin can still hear her.

"I told you, She's alive...There's no way a girl like her would ever let herself be killed by a Titan" Eren said before walking away. After Eren's gone , Armin heard a sound from Mikasa. He glanced a look at her face before seeing an almost frustrated scowl that was unusual from her calm demeanor.

" You don't understand.. Eren. She's been missing for 3 years already. If she is still alive or for some reason, hiding in the darkest streets of either Wall Sina or Rose, She will still find us and tell us she's fine but.." she paused for a second.

"..I, too, want to believe she's still alive. I refuse to believe someone like her could fall so easily, just like you said.. but..it's a cruel world...and the more I believe, the more it will hurt" Mikasa silently followed after Eren to his table, who in turn just ignores her.

Armin also made his way to grab a tray of bread and soup and sat down on Eren's table.

For Armin, It's uncomfortable to see the calm and composed Mikasa to let out her feelings and be..frustrated but Armin felt like that Mikasa may not noticed that he was there listening to her nonetheless he both understand how the two felt..about Rie..and about how she's missing.

Armin may had find the girl scary before but as time grew on, he also felt attached to Rie. Her red eyes scared him to death back in the day, it looked like it did not carry an ounce of humanity. It was dark and when Rie looks at him, It felt like a doll was staring. It was empty .

But as time grew on, Her dark, empty red eyes seemed like an imagination Armin had because there was light in her eyes whenever she looks at them, namely Mikasa, Eren and him.

But her empty eyes may sometimes return. The three of them once found Rie alone, in a dark corner, her dark, empty eyes seemed more dangerous and the more they stare, the more it reminded them of death.

Armin can never forget the spine-chilling and goose bumps he felt all throughout his body and how his heart beats quickly in fear when the moment those eyes finally landed on she noticed them, her eyes quickly returned to it's normal bright state and she just greeted us like nothing happened.

Nonetheless, they never saw those kind of eyes again. But the point is,She maybe a violent girl who can annoy someone endlessly but Armin did get attached to her because like Eren, She was always there for him. When Eren's not around , She was the one who saves him from bullies although her methods were different...but also just like Eren and him, She expressed curiosity about what's outside beyond the Walls. She believed them when no one else does. She trusts them and it's about time they do too

"Yeah, I, too, believe she's alive."The two looked at Armin.

" I mean ,you're right. Someone like her? Who blackmails other kids and enjoys when they're pissed off or scared of her? Who also pick fights with adults just because she found them annoying or either insulting us ?.. She's way beyond us"Armin laughed,remembering times with Rie.

Eren unconsciously smiled at the thought " She's not going to be taken down easily by Titans. " Mikasa also softly smiled ,returning to her composed self slowly.

•••

Around the same time, a silver- haired girl is also practicing at the Survey Corps. Headquarters. She is together with Hanji in an open field.

" So, first of all.. You're doing hand-to-hand combat!" Hanji cheerfully said to Rie who only shrugged.

" Not complaining but why?"

"Hmm..They only said you never know who you fight. It's not only Titans that are our enemies."

Rie only shrugged at that statement, stretching her arms and legs getting ready.

" Is Levi my opponent?" Stating the obvious, Rie feels like Levi is the only capable opponent here but maybe because he is the only one she has already fought with.

"No, He's busy right now. That's why I'll be your opponent!" Rie almost scoffed at that but the way she cheerfully said that made her think that she shouldn't underestimate her.

Rie readied her stance while Hanji did the same. No one made the first move. Both of them were silent.

"You shouldn't underestimate me, Rie . I'm stronger than Levi when it comes to close combat" Hanji talked to Rie .None of them still made the first move.Rie blankly stared at Hanji. Hanji smiled.

Hanji made the first move. She moved swiftly to Rie and was about to deliver a punch to her right cheek. Rie noticed it and dodged to the left. She proceeded to send the next attack. Rie aimed her left fist at Hanji's temple but she dodged to the side but before she could deliver the next offense, Rie acted quickly and just tried to hit her face with her elbow but Hanji bended backwards, so far that it actually surprised Rie on how flexible she is.

"Whoa" Hanji blurted out, who tried to balance herself. She proceeded to grab Rie's elbow and throw her over her shoulder. As soon as Rie was high up in the air, She pressed her finger on a nerve in Hanji's wrist that made her lose grip on her and she landed safely. Hanji was a little surprised at it which Rie took to her advantage. She ran at full speed towards Hanji and planned to use all her strength into one punch straight to Hanji.

Hanji gasped at the sudden attack and quickly made a defensive position using both of her arms to cushion the incoming punch. The strength of Rie's punch send her falling to the ground. Rie exhaled an exhausted sigh.

" If I may ask, Who taught you hand-to-hand combat?" Hanji asked

"...Someone I knew" Hanji almost smacked herself for assuming she would give a clear answer.

"Well then, Whoever that was, needs to teach you something..." Rie turned her back and stretched her arm, a few bones crackling.

"-that you should NEVER let your guard down!" Rie half expected her to do it so when she turned around, she's prepared to block it off using a move she learnt from her "teacher" but she didn't expected Hanji to grab hold of her arm and was about to punch her stomach at full force.

Panic took over her. Her free hand tried to grab her gun that was always strapped behind her but realized it was back in her room. Knowing it's her defeat, she closed her eyes and prepared for the hit...

"We're done with hand-to-hand combat for today! We'll do it again tomorrow so those marvelous skills of yours won't rust!" Rie heard Hanji's obnoxiously cheerful voice and peeked an eye open to see Hanji creepily smiling at her.

Rie's expression turned to a scowl as she was almost about to slap Hanji's face but remembered it IS her "superior". She rolled her eyes in her mind at the word.

"Got to say, Rie . Your close combat is really amazing! Yours are...yep! For self-defense, right? I mean you were trying to hit weak points to end the fight early. Yeah, I think that's partly the reason why you're on par with Levi! He's great at offensive and YOU are great at defensive! Oh,that doesn't mean he lacks in defense ,you too,you don't lack in offense. You were dodging almost all the time and sometimes attack in a way you could also defend yourself in time. Hm, but you're still missing something, really! Oh yeah, I noticed you're heavily reliant on your gun. That's no good! Anyways, what I said is right, right?!"

Hanji 's face was really close to Rie's. Rie's idea of slapping her came up again. Her right arm is actually raised which was about to slap a certain brunette's cheek but stopped herself again. Rie coughed and narrowed her eyes at Hanji.

"First, You're excessive talking and Observation are both annoying. Second, It is for self-defense, My aim is to just either disable the opponent or make him incapable of fighting back. Lastly, All my life Outside the Walls, I just use my gun and my survival instincts, that's why I'm obviously reliant on it" Rie crossed her arms while explaining it.

"And like I said! That's no good! Your gun can't help you forever" Hanji started walking to another location in which Rie followed after.

"But it did..for 3 years"

"And you are lucky for that. You're a Survey Corps. soldier now and you need to learn on how to use 3DMG and how to use your blades to attack a Titan." They are currently going to a forest just up ahead and Rie's sweat dropped at what they were about to do next.

"Speaking of 3DMG, how's your skills in using it? Levi mentioned he found you using it for a moment to climb a tree" Hanji glanced a look at Rie who avoided her stare.

"...It's shit. It was a few months ago that I started using it but I was busy so i wasn't able to use or practice much"

"It may not be that bad! Let me see you try! Come on" Hanji pointed at a nearby gear offering to show her Rie's "skills" in 3DMG.She clicked her tongue.

•••

"Okay, you weren't joking when you said it was horrible" She awkwardly laughed at Rie who was glaring at her, minor scratches and bruises were covering her body.

When Rie started doing a test run on it, she was balanced, as much to Hanji's relief that she knows the first and the most basic thing required to use 3DMG.

Her hooks, however, are too far. She aims those hooks to faraway trees and so it cannot reach. Another thing that worried Hanji was she uses too much gas, It wasn't even 3 minutes into the test that she yelled that she ran out. She was so fast,That's why when she turns, she crashes to a tree first. Sometimes, she also forgets to release a hook from it's hold.

"Well,now we know where you're bad at,which was surprising, We'll spend the whole day practicing you to be able to use a 3DMG properly and efficiently" Rie clicked her tongue again.

•••

At around Dinner time, the two finished for the day. Hanji told Rie to have Dinner and she could go back to her room to rest.

Hanji went to a room and closed the door, smiling at the two occupants of said room. Erwin was working on papers before glancing a look at the visitor and Levi,well,he was leaning on a wall.

"Hanji.".Erwin called,acknowledging her presence "How was Rie's training?"Erwin asked while continuing his work.

"Well,quite great,I say" She approaches the blonde man "She's good at close combat which we already known before. We only did close combat, Horse riding and 3DMG today. For tomorrow, we could do all of those again for a short amount of time just to see if she improved and if it did we'll proceed with a test of killing Titans,you know, the dummy titans"She explained flipping through her notes.

"Oh,forgot to tell you, she's not really that great at 3DMG. Her hooks are bad and also her turns. She also uses way too much gas. I tried teaching her today to use gas efficiently and to land her hooks properly. She improved, thankfully, at the last dry run"

"Horse riding went strangely well. At first, none of the horses wanted her,they all backed away from her but I was surprised that she chose a horse that actually is fine with her riding it. You remember that black horse we found outside the Walls?"

"The one that doesn't listen to any orders from anyone? I remember we lost good soldiers who rode it while outside the Walls..that's why we never let anyone ride it again"Erwin stopped his work for a moment.

"Yep, that one! And you know what's surprising? Rie chose it and it actually complied! At first, I thought it would be dangerous for her so I asked her to ride it for a good 2 hours to see if it is actually safe for her but surprisingly, the horse listened to her every order! It did not even try to kick her off of it's back"Hanji said, her smile wide as she waved her hands around.

"That...is interesting..Hm,Anything else?"Erwin looked at Hanji,knowing what he means by that,who only shook her head.

"Nothing at all. She keeps giving brief and unclear answers. Her close combat was taught by 'someone she knows'. In fights, she only aims to defend herself or make the opponent incapable of fighting.That's all"

"I see, nothing much, I presume"

"If we really want information from her,Why can't we just force it out?"Levi suddenly said ,looking at Erwin.

"Levi,What can you say about her eyes?"Erwin,once again,continued his work.

"Aside from the fact she considers it as a big deal, It is unusual and creepy as fuck"Levi replied

"They're empty. When I take a good look at it, It seems like I was not looking at a human. I doubt that she will say anything even if we force it out. I doubt she even have fear of pain."

"How about we try to find out?" Levi lifted himself off from leaning on the wall.

"As much as I want to try that out also,we don't want our little silver kitty to run away,don't we?"Hanji butted in,placing a hand on Levi's shoulder. He flicked the hand away.

"She might not know fear of pain or whatever fears we think she have,but she knows when a situation proves dangerous for her own good. She can escape without us knowing since I've granted her freedom to do whatever she wants. "Erwin added

"Yeah, Rie's a… hmm a logical kind of person. She does not act if it does not benefit nor harm her. If it does,she'll take the chance if it benefits and if it harms, she'll find a way to avoid. I seen it in our fight today. When I was stunned shocked on the move she did on me, she wasted no time to attack." Hanji added next.

"So what? We're going to just do this for who-knows-how-long?"

"Yes. She knows something and whatever may that be will may or may not help humanity. It is a chance I'm willing to take"Erwin finished looking at Levi who only stared back,contemplating his calculative eyes.

"Do whatever you want…"

"..also,..I want her in my squad"Levi said,Hanji was the only one showing a shocked expression.

"Huh? Levi, You haven't even seen what she's capable of! You handpick soldiers for your squads based on their performance in the field,right?"Hanji said

" I'll see it on the fields firsthand. Besides, I can handle her easily that way if she ever do something stupid or try to run away."Levi finished,turning to leave the room.

"Well, I guess that's it for today? I'll report back to you tomorrow again,Erwin~! Have a good night! Have some sleep sometimes! Your eyebrows will fall off if you keep staying up late"Hanji said before closing the door and her footsteps fading away.

Hanji thought she would like to sleep for the day but decided to drink first so she went to the dining room. Once she was there, she also found Levi drinking tea again and staring somewhere else.

"Yo,Levi! Staying up late again?" She waved her hand before getting a glass of water.

Receiving no reply, she sat down on a chair and continued to talk…

"Hey,what made you to recruit her into your squad?" She asked

"…Just like I said. It was in order to control her.I'll teach the brat to respect."Levi sipped from his holds it from the brim which other soldiers find strange but there was a rumor going around from a certain titan-obsessed brunette that Levi broke a cup when he held it on the handle and from then on,he holds it like that.

"Hahaha, Rie sure is interesting huh? ...Like the titans" Levi noticed a familiar gleam in Hanji's glasses and decided it was time to leave her alone but thankfully ,it was gone so quickly.

"but unlike the titans, she's a human. She can think."

"Speaking of Rie, I'd better go and check on her."She stood up and waved goodbye to Levi who still kept his stare somewhere else.

"LLLLEEEEEEEVVVVVVIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

A few minutes only had passed when Hanji's loud voice rang across the Headquarters,waking up some soldiers who just slept.

Levi only continued drinking tea,not minding the hurried footsteps approaching. In a split-second,Hanji's worried,nervous and about to cry face is infront of Levi. Levi almost spat his drink in her face,not that he cared if he did it though.

"Damn Glasses, Get your face away!"Levi said pushing away Hanji's face but she resisted his strength .

"But Levi-"

"What the hell is it?! Spit it out!"

"RIE'S MISSING!"

•••

"What did you told her before you went to Erwin's office?"Levi asked Hanji who was currently pacing back and forth in Rie's room in which the said owner is not present.

"I only told her she could go back to her room to rest!"

"Could. You did not order her. You just suggested she could" Levi glared at the now-crying Hanji.

Her room was neat and tidy. The bed looked like it hasn't been occupied since this morning. Some clothes are still here but her gun was nowhere to be found.

Before this happened,Hanji went straight to Rie's room after talking to Levi. When she knocked,she received no reply. She tried knocking again but there were still none ,she opened the door and found no one. She tried knocking on the bathroom door to see if she was taking a shower but she can't hear a sound of running water.

Now at this time,she was getting nervous. She tried searching for her in the kitchen in case she decided on a late night snack but she's not there. She searched next through every room she might've accidentally gone to but she's nowhere to be found.

Now she was panicking,She searched for her outside. At the training grounds, At the forest they trained with, At the horse stables, She even went as far as the nearby village but she's not there!

And that's why she went to the only person who can help her.

And now,they're at Rie's empty bed.

"She's not in any room in HQ?" Levi asked at Hanji who was visibly nervous and shaking.

" No. What if she escaped? I should've made sure she was sleeping in bed first. what do I do? Oh,Erwin's going to be mad at this even though I've never seen him angry before.I don't even want to know .She's gone. Rie's gone. I still want to know more about her.I want to know how she can kill titans with a gun.I want to know how will she kill titans using 3DMG .I want to still know what she knows.I'm pretty sure it's interesting but she's gone!Oh no. did we do something wrong? Did we do something that made her run away?What was it?LEVI!WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!"

"…First of all,calm down shitty glasses. Second, She was in your responsibility until the expedition,you should've done a better job at watching her , We'll search again outside so shut up already"Levi said to Hanji who was trying to hug him again.

"Oh! LEVI! Thank you so much!"Hanji tried to hug him again but Levi already proceeded to go outside so Hanji only hugged air before falling down…

Levi and Hanji splitted ways to search for Rie. Hanji searched again in previous places she searched,checking out every corner she might've missed. Levi went to nearby villages to search.

It was already so late at night yet they still can't find Rie. Hanji met up with Levi back in front of HQ.

"We still can't find her…" Hanji is panicking once again.

" Where did that brat go? Did she really escaped?"Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"What are you two doing here?"

The two turned their heads to the female voice to find out it belonged to the person they were searching for all this time.

"RIE~!"Hanji jumped towards Rie to hug her but the 16-year old girl only sidestepped to avoid the hug,letting the brunette fall.

"You. Where have you been? We've been searching for you all night,you goddamn brat"Levi glared at Rie who only blankly stared at him. Hanji was trying to reach out to Rie's arm but she moved it away.

"Why?...Oh..You thought I ran away or something? You don't have to worry. I joined because it's my choice…and because I was given freedom with it but rest assured, I won't run away unless you are sure that you did something wrong to me" Rie explained but her explanation may have not convinced Levi to trust her word.

"I was worried,Rie!" Hanji stood up quickly,bringing her face close much to the annoyance of Rie.

"I could care less about your concerns"Rie blankly looked at the brunette but Hanji was unfazed by it.

"It's late at night! You're a girl for good sake!"Hanji exclaimed

"What of it?"

"Huh?"

"What's me being a girl have to do with staying outside late at night?" Rie crossed her arms,confusion in her tone.

"Huh?...Strange Men will attack you,Duh!"Hanji was also just as confused at what Rie is saying.

"I can defend myself,in case you forgot , also are men targeting my life? Why so?"Rie,for some reason,took a serious tone. Hanji was still confused but she kind of has an idea on what's going on.

"Rie…do you know what sexual intercourse is?"Hanji asked and Rie only raised an eyebrow.

"It is how babies are made"

"Yeah,but do you actually know **know** it?"Hanji is kind of getting embarassed asking about this

"What do you mean?"

"Like how it was done?"

"Inserting of a male's sperm cell into a female's egg cell"

"Yeah,scientifically but-…ugh nevermind this"Hanji got embarrassed and asked another question but she was secretly giggling.

"Okay,what is the term 'rape' for you?"

"Taking advantage of a person's weak stature to overpower them in order to have benefits…At least that's what my sister said"Rie said

Hanji can't handle it. She bursts out laughing. Rie's right but not entirely. She held her stomach and continued to laugh. Levi only clicked his tongue and sighed beside her. Rie was dumbfounded at what is happening. She 's confused as to why is Hanji laughing her ass off or why Levi glaring(?) at her as if she was a disappointment in life.

 **I'M ALIVE. Sorry I didn't update last month. There were a lot of breaks and I thought I could focus on this but my family planned trips and I didn't really had a quiet time to focus on this but now I have.As compensation though,I'm already on my way on the next chaptef! it's where the expedition is happening now!**

 **I drew a digital art of Rie so you know how she looks like.I'll be posting it up soon on my deviantart.**

 **In case you don't know my DA acc.:**

 **deviantart. yurinyx .com**


	8. Chapter 6: Expedition

The day of the expedition finally arrived. The Survey Corps. Soldiers all lined up in front of the gate in Wall Rose, mounted on their horses. People are swarming the group either with amazed faces or disgusted expressions all directed at the group.

On the very front, Commander Erwin is there to lead the formation in which Rie thought as much. What she can't accept though is where she was put at.

"Why the hell am I in this guy's squad?" Rie pointed her thumb at Levi, looking annoyed. She only heard of this now apparently , a certain "trainer/guardian or whatever" did not inform her of this the past 2 months and now she is questioning said "trainer".

"You should be glad, Rie! Levi is known for being humanity's strongest soldier and his squad are only made up of soldiers handpicked by him!" Hanji raised her hands up in defense.

"you picked me to be in your damn squad?!"She turned her head to Levi. The (short) man only looked in front of him, not caring about the glare the 16 year old is giving him.

"I bet you only put me here to torture me,huh?" She added ,her frown getting worse.

"Good to know you're not entirely an idiot" was Levi's only reply. Rie gritted her teeth and her glare more deadly. Sadly, she knew she can't do anything about it. Free reign she was given but she needs to follow orders from these three officers.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well considering you're naïve to the point that you don't know what reproduction really is except scientifically considering your age, It's good to know you still have a brain" Rie fumed at it. Some other soldiers tried explaining it to her when she was asking after the night they talked about this. Some provided confusing answers that made her learn nothing while some explained it although not too clearly.

Instead of getting embarrassed by it, Rie still doesn't understand why people react to it. They explained that it's an expression of love by lovers and they take pleasure in it. Rie stopped thinking about it since no one really solved her questions.The concept of romantic love itself boggles her. What is the difference of it when compared to familial or friendly love?.

Instead of answering back, Rie turned to Hanji who once again quickly put her hands up in defense.

"Why am I placed in a squad in the first place?! Just so you know, I don't do teamwork. I've always killed Titans on my own, they will just get in my way"

"Well,Rie. That is why we put you in a squad. Learn to cooperate with others . You acting on your own could cause us trouble"Hanji took on a serious tone.Instead of asking her to do it, It was more of an order.An order Rie hated.

Rie had no choice but to follow , she returned her gaze infront with a frown still present in her face. At this moment, an auburn-haired woman approached her.

"Hi. Rie Vricht, right? I'm Petra Ral. Part of the Special Operations Squad led by Captain Levi. We'll be comrades from now on so let's trust each other okay?" Petra smiled ,helding out a hand for her to shake but Rie ignored the hand. She also noticed her avoiding eye contact or rather not looking at her eyes.

"Trust doesn't come with the title of being comrades but sure whatever Hanji's orders" Rie replied.Petra seems taken aback by the answer but she continued to talk anyways.

"We're a group. You just don't trust us because it's someone's orders…You've got to have faith in us and in our abilities"

"Like I said" Rie looked at Petra who flinched a little but did not go unnoticed by Rie.

"I don't trust you. I doubt you would go and save me when I'm about to get eaten by a titan"

"That's not true!…"

"oh,but I'm pretty sure Erwin wouldn't let me die anyways. He'll probably ordered you guys to stop me if ever I act on my own and get myself in danger. Anyways my point is, I can handle myself. I shouldn't have been put in a squad. Teamwork…is way beyond me" Rie looked in front of her again.

"…and like I said. We are a group now. We act as one. If we don't then we can't achieve anything. There are things you can't do alone especially now that you're part of the Survey Corps. In order to achieve something successfully, you must have faith in us." Rie glanced a look at her face, Petra showed a fierce and determined look in her eyes. Rie groaned inwardly and did not replied back.

"Hey, you speak up!" A man with dirty blonde hair spoke. His expression somewhat resembles Levi's. Is he trying to copy him?

"Saying stuff like you can handle things yourself, who do you think you are, huh?"

"Stop it Oluo. She's ignoring you now, can't you see?" A man with blonde hair told the man named Oluo. Oluo look to see that Rie is indeed ignoring him, her face directed at the crowd and not looking at her right where Oluo is.

"HUH?! Who do you really think you are, ignoring me?! I'll have you know that I-"

Oluo suddenly stopped. Rie glanced a look to see that he bit his tongue so hard, blood is flooding out of his mouth.

"Amazing. He bit his tongue again" A black-haired man with a neat hairstyle said.

"How many times has it been, Gunther?" The blonde man asked Gunther who only shrugged.

"We are now commencing the 36th expedition. Today marks a new journey for humanity to move forward!" Erwin's voice rang out through the whole street. All soldiers paid attention and prepared themselves.(A/N: btw,IJustTypedARandomNumber)

"ONWARDS!!"

The expedition has started. Horses galloped to the direction of the gate. More and more horses goes outside of the Wall. Rie observed the entrance. She anticipates the moment she gets past it.

'Finally…I can't wait to get out of this walls though I will come back to it after this..'

The moment she got past the Wall, she breathed and released it. Her shoulders relaxed and a blissful expression is present on her face.

"How are you doing, you brat? Bet you're scared for your first time outside" Oluo spoke to Rie. Rie and the other three members of the Special Ops Squad stared at him.

"Oluo..Have you forgotten? Did biting your tongue also affected your brain?" The blonde man looked in pity at Oluo who only gave a confused look.

"Huh? What do you mean by that ,Eld?"

'Ah. So his name's Eld' Rie thought.

"She came from outside the Walls"

"And I've been killing titans outside for the last 3 years..No way I'm scared..I missed this." Rie smirked at them and the sun only made her red eyes glow.

Ever since Rie got outside, she's been a little bit expressive. Petra thought as much since the time when they met her, she expressed hatred towards the Walls and glared at every person she came across to.

"10-meter to the right! Wah~ Hey there big guy!"Hanji said blushing and waving a hand to the titan.

Rie was about to stop her horse and aim her gun but Petra stopped her. Rie shot a glare. The titan could be a threat to her that's why she won't let it live but the damn woman is stopping her.

"Leave it to the other squads. They can handle it"

Rie figured she was right. Of course, they can handle it. She almost forgot these are soldiers who face death everyday, just like her. She relaxed and Petra was glad she decided to do so.

"Commence the wide range formation!" Erwin's voice was heard by all soldiers and was followed. Different squads went to their own positions while others remained in the middle.

Being in the center of the formation, Rie and the special ops hasn't really encounter a titan since it was either dealt with by the right or left flank or being avoided by signaling a red flare.

"Boring" Rie muttered

"You wouldn't say that if you-..oh right"Oluo stopped his sentence , remembering earlier conversations with the girl.

"If I encountered a titan, is what you're about to say, right?" Rie once again smirked but Oluo was about to deny when Petra spoke up.

"Captain, A 14-meter Titan has made it's way inside the formation" Petra waited for orders while keeping her gaze on the titan slowly walking to them.

"Do it" Levi ordered but just before Petra could act, they heard a gunshot and the titan fell down.

Rie blew the smoke coming from her gun. The rest of the members stared at her.

"..Whoah. She can really kill titans with a gun" Eld mentioned which the other three members can agree on.

"You acted without orders" Levi glanced a look at Rie who put her chin up and looked down at him.

"I just did what I always do."

"Back then, you are alone here outside but now you are in the Survey Corps and is under my command as the Captain. Whether you like it or not, you take orders from me" Rie gritted her teeth at that. He is right after all…She guessed she was acting kind of childish, trying to defy orders from the same people she willingly gave herself to, thinking she was above others.

…yeah It only occurred to her now but there was a good reason she acted like that. I just don't trust them. Angelica always used to tell me this that she noticed that I have a natural instinct to not trust other people. How could I not? I know they lie, they do things for their own greed,Always thinking about themselves, they..

Rie shaked off the thought. She stared at the backs of the five members of Squad Levi.

The expedition continued on.

As time passed, Rie find herself thinking.

'Wait, why are we even doing an expedition now? What are we supposed to do? Go out and just hunt for titans?'

"Petra Ral.What is really our goal for this expedition?" Rie suddenly asked Petra.

"Just 'Petra' is fine.Well, our goal is to reach the gate of Wall Maria and find a way to cover it. Although the losses were sometimes too much that we have to return before we reach it, we still have to try to seal the hole in order to reclaim Wall Maria from the Titans" Petra explained

"Okaaay then. Seems pretty easy considering there's not much titans around" Rie scanned her surroundings ,confirming what she just said. There were no red flares that says a titan has been spotted to be seen since the last 5 minutes.

"It's only just beginning. Here is where the challenge is"Gunther suddenly spoke that made Rie turn her attention to him. He pointed at a forest far away.The forest of giant trees again.

"Oh."

"Up to this point, there are far less titans we encountered than what's past it for the last few expeditions we had" Rie only nodded, somehow eerily quiet.

"These number of Titans were making us retreat early but I guess it decreased when you were here"

"I..feel that it is important for you to know this" When Rie said that, all members put their attention on her even Levi is listening closely.

"When you haven't found me yet here…I was the one luring Titans here." Petra turned her head to her in confusion.

"Sure, I kill them when they get too close to my home but if not, I lure most of them in the forest. I made sure to lure lots.When you retreat because of these titans? That was the success of my plan."Silence.

" I don't want you lot to find me and take me back but you guys sure as hell broke through that forest I laid out as a "wall" " Silence.

Rie couldn't blame them. She was the one making their expedition as a fail. The one making them retreat. Most of all, She was the one who lead their comrades right through their death or rather she was the one who led death to them. Now, they're working with said person and was supposed to work with her?

But what did Rie feel about it? She feel remorseless. She can't feel any guilt when she is supposed to. She could care less about the lives that was taken because of her actions.

Weird.After all, in that day…She did say she doesn't want anyone dying in front of her but here she was leading death to others and she could care less. Perhaps..what she said that day was wrong..The anger she felt.The Sadness she felt. Those emotions only occurred to her when Angelica…died.Perhaps..She can only care about others who 'she can see' in her eyes"*

That's right,It made more sense to her. She never really did care about others even way back. She can only see Angelica,Mikasa,Eren and Armin…but those four are gone..

There is no one she cares about now.Yes. Truly no one.

"Ah! Two 15-meter to the left and one 9-meter infront of us!!" Petra sudden shout broke everyone out of their thoughts.

"Eld, Gunther. Can handle it?"Levi asked the two men behind him ,they nodded and saluted before heading off to kill.

Rie observed them. She watched as Eld jumped from a tree branch and sliced the nape of the 15-meter.He landed on the bark of a tree,digging in his hook onto it as he observed the other 15-meter.The titan noticed him and tried to grab him but Eld swung past it's arm and over it's head before swinging down his blades to hit it's nape.

Rie switched her attention to Gunther who circled the titan and slicing a neat 'X' mark on it's nape.The 9-meter titan fall to it's side,steam coming out of it's body.The two men proceeded to head back to their own horses.

The ride through the forest was a long one. Rie didn't remember the forest being this big or wide for horses to take this long to pass through. So far, on their side, there are no casualties. They have already encountered 7 titans and Rie is getting annoyed.

Why? Oh ,why the hell not?

Rie expected to show her own skills in the field. You know? How she kills titans and using 3DMG and all that but…

The damn midget never once gave her an order to engage and kill off the titans. He always give them to the four. She was getting impatient.

 _Is he doing this on purpose? What? To torture me?!"_

Rie glared daggers at Levi,trying to bore a hole on his head.The other four members noticed the dark look in Rie's face.It looked like she was ready to kill the subject of that glare the next moment.

With utmost caution and delicate words,Petra approached Rie.

"Rie, What seems to be wrong?" Petra smiled, trying to ease off the incoming danger most likely coming from the silver-haired girl.

"Trying to see if death glares really live up to it's name" Rie replied, her glare much worse than before and Petra swear she saw a dark aura emanating from her.

They knew what made Rie so annoyed.They notiiced it too. Captain Levi was a man who believe in the saying actions speak louder than words. They could not believe that Rie was put into their squad when Levi hasn't even seen her skills so they thought that he would order her the whole expedition to see her skills firsthand but to their surprise ,he didn't.

Petra knew the girl was about to blow any moment and it could cause trouble so she chose her words carefully.

"Rie, You are..still new.. but I believe your skills are rather special so I think you will be put to a test much later on" Petra smiled, hoping she chose the right response. She didn't know how the girl's mind operates so she doesn't know if this will simmer her down but she hopes it will.

" 'kay." Was Rie's short response and Petra released a breath she did not know she was holding.

Rie knew that Petra may be lying just to stop her from murdering the little midget but she may have a point. Maybe Levi was reserving her for later so she chose to believe in Petra Ral's words for now.

It wasn't that much longer that they encountered another titan. Although it was different from what they encountered ,there were five…and they are all blocking the path, right and left…even in front. There's no avoiding them.

Levi's eyes scanned through every titan. Two in the left 10-meter and a 6-meter, Two in the front both 15-meters and one giant hell ass 19-meter on the right.

"Captain.. orders?" Gunther asked staring at the titans. The two from the left already noticed them and headed their way to the group.

Levi continued to observe, the other three are not minding them. Abnormals, I suppose? They're just standing there and the other one in the front is crouched down.

The 19-meter is just staring at a tree. It's back facing them. Levi moved it's horse to it planning to avoid the four by passing by the big ass titan.

Rie can't stop fidgeting on her horse. She stared heavily at the titans. Her survival instincts are going wild. These titans needs to be eliminated, it feels like the next moment she'll be stepped on by this 19-meter.

But no, Captain Levi planned to avoid them and just pass by. She knew there was nothing wrong with that since she was taught that when outside, Gas and blades are limited . Once you're out, you're a goner.

That statement didn't intimidate her since she survived without those but she can admit that it was much easier to move around and survive using these things.

She just really had a bad feeling and if they could care less if her survival instincts say she's in danger than the more she cannot trust them.

"Hey,Captain Levi? I know we're supposed to pass by them but…I think that's not such a great idea. My instincts tell me to kill them off" Rie stated

"To hell with your instincts!"Oluo blurted out and Rie glared at him. Her instincts were not to be underestimated. These were her primary guide. Her help to survival outside.

"Don't worry Rie. Trust the Captain or just trust us" Rie already grew tired of hearing that over and over again. Can't they understand that I just won't?

"Yeah like that could make me breathe" She muttered

Suddenly, The 19-meter moved it's head and stared at them. The group was alarmed and their blades was ready but the titan didn't do anything. It just stared at them.

As if there was a Go signal, All five titans suddenly targeted the group. The titan that was crouched down, jumped to the group almost hitting Rie's horse and the horse panicked.She made it calm down but she was ready to fight

"Fuck it! I'm killing 'em!" Rie said before jumping off her horse and used her 3DMG to circle around the group of titans who was now targeting her.

"Rie!" Petra shouted.

"Stubborn brat"

Levi gritted his teeth at the girl. Nevertheless, he made no move against the titans.He observed Rie fight them off.

Rie was high up in the air,ready to slash at the crouched titan.To her surprise, the titan jumped at her with it's mouth open ready to close it when she's inside. Rie acted quick and propelled herself to a nearby tree, missing it's mouth by a close margin.

"Come here" Rie smirked at it,waiting for it to strike. As she planned,The titan jumped to the tree she was on but she flew high up in the air again,The titan crashing to the tree.

The tree's branches fell and almost hit Eld and Gunther but they evaded at the last minute.

"Oi-" Levi wanted to reprimand the brat but she wasn't listening at all. She was too busy having fun killing these off.

Rie hooked herself on a bark of a tree ,Looking at the two normal titans. The other abnormal is running around and the 19-meter is just staring.

She targeted the two normal ones. Using the tree as her platform, she pushed herself off and used her gas to speed herself. She sliced the foot of the other titan heading up to it's nape and hit the other one's nape in one swift motion.

"Wah~ That was so fast!" Rie exclaimed she did not notice her wires was getting tangled up and she hit the ground with a painful thud.

"Ah. Ouch." She said in a blank tone, you cannot believe she is really in pain.

"RIE! WATCH OUT" Rie heard Petra's voice and looked up to see a giant foot about to crush her. She can't move in time. She was still on the ground. Her mind just said to her to move out of the way so acting quick she scrambled to her feet but it's getting close. She'll survive with broken legs at least. She closed her eyes and hoped she made it out.

She felt arms wrapped around her waist and being pushed until they hit something , felt like a tree. She finally peeked one eye open and looked at thee one who saved her.

"Petra?" Rie stared in disbelief at the auburn-haired woman. She was at her side, breathing heavily. She held her arm and writhed in pain. Rie wasn't stupid to know that she hit the tree hard and her arm was used as a cushion that means she flew to her in the fastest speed her gear could manage to move her out of the way.

"Hey,..why?" She stared confusingly but then again she didn't care about the injuries she got but just confused at her actions.

"…ugh.We..we're…. Comrades… and I won't let you… die like this." Petra managed to say

Rie still doesn't understand. Why is she risking her life for someone she just met? Someone she doesn't even know if they were willing to do the same for her?

Seeing Rie's confused look, she managed to smile at her.

"You're already…a friend. Even if you don't consider us to, I consider you as a friend"

That statement left Rie's mouth agape. After a moment of silence, she only nodded. She left Petra there to rest and chased after the running abnormal.

It was hard since it was changing directions and when Rie finally got a hold on it, Levi swooped in and killed it and also the 19-meter in a second.

Rie stopped in awe. She breathed out a tired sigh. She watched as Levi landed gracefully on the ground. The titan's blood on his cape was evaporating quickly.

Levi suddenly made his way towards Rie with a glare much worse than his usual one. Knowing, and also confused, that was directed to her, she held up her hands in a defensive cross just in time to block his high kick.

But it caught her by surprise so she didn't had time to prepare to balance his force so it made her sat down.

"What-" She was cut off when another kick was aimed at her again.

"What the hell?!" She finally exclaimed before dodging a punch coming from him.

"You. Brat. If you want to go have a death wish then don't take us with you!" Another kick was aimed and she dodged.

"T-This is why I said that I should've worked alone!" Rie dodged a punch and backed away. Eld and Gunther who was calming their horses, watched the two. Oluo picked Petra up and watched the two also.

"As if you can handle being alone after what you displayed. Without Petra, you would've been crushed to pieces by that titan" Levi said and that made Rie silent.

" You almost killed my squad because of your actions. I don't blame you to act out of your own instinct but I won't let you do something when the result is my squad getting killed"

"….How am I supposed to know? I could care less about their lives! All I want is to survive" Rie suddenly blurted out.

The squad Levi members was surprised at her outburst. She really said that she doesn't care about them dying right in front of those said people.

"You had the nerve to say that after Petra risked her life to save you" With that ,Levi mounted on his horse and waited for the other members to follow through the expedition

•••

The whole ride was silent. After they passed through the forest successfully, the Survey corps camped at an open field to have a rest for a moment.

Squad Levi left to go eat while Rie excused herself to be on watch duty. Petra looked worried at Rie but their Captain is right. She risked her life to save her yet she says that she doesn't care. It was something she needed to reflect on. Rie climbed a branch on a nearby tree of a small forest and sat there.

"Oh Rie!"

Rie turned her head around to see Hanji smiling down at her . She did not say anything back nor did she complain about her sitting beside her.

"So, I heard from Levi"

Rie made no movement and so Hanji continued.

" He mentioned that you said you could care less even if they die…Rie, I-"

"Hanji , Are you a friend? " She cut off Hanji's sentence with a rather weird question in her opinion but still answered.

" I get it. It's something about your trust issues, huh? Rie, we are your friends. We won't harm you! We're both humans anyways seeking the truth outside these Walls or rather that is what I expect you to do" Hanji asked for a confirmation but met with silence

"Anyways, Rie ,you can trust us. How can we trust you too if you're not doing the same thing?...Look, If you can't trust anybody at all even Erwin and Levi then Trust me! I'm a friend!"Hanji exclaimed.

"..Petra said that I was her friend even if I don't consider her so."

"Ah. Petra.. Yep she just trusts her comrades that much even if you're new"

" To be honest, I don't understand myself… What I said is true, for some reason, I can't bring myself to care about others. My sister and my friends are the only ones I care and with that care,comes with trust.."

Rie couldn't help but say her troubles to Hanji. Hanji was getting…too close to her like Eren and Armin were and she's starting to consider her as like them...

"How did You and the three friends you were talking about started to become friends?"

Rie widened her eyes at the mention of the trio and their memories together. Now that she mentioned it, how did they start becoming friends. She remembered being mean ,not like it changed over the years, to Eren and Armin. She considered them annoying but one day, he just declared that they're friends and Rie didn't know what she did but She thinks she agreed with him on that.

"He just said so"

"Then I say that we are friends!"Hanji exclaimed and Rie stared at her and for some reason, she agreed again just like what she did to Eren.

"Never seen a friend that is desperate for information about me"Rie saw the look in Hanji's face.

"You were that obvious. You were treating me like some….special Titan or something"

"Well, if you already know, then why won't you tell us?"

" Like I said before, What I know and what I need to know are not of your business. I assure you that it is a personal thing and it has nothing to do with the truth outside these Walls." Rie confessed

"Well, I'm your friend! Friends tell each other of their problems!"

 _Do they? Huh. I don't recall doing that to Eren and thee others. Oh, they're the ones doing that._

"Is that so?...but that would ruin the fun.

It would be interesting how you would find out something about me and if you did, you can come to me for confirmation" Rie, for the first time in a while, smiled.

In a way, I am using her to help me find something about myself..

"Eehh~??" Hanji pouted but was surprised and also glad to see Rie smile.

"I guess I need to fix my mistakes huh? For me, those were not mistakes but in normal standards, that would be wrong."Rie blurted out

" *sigh* I have to apologize to that midget?" Rie said before hopping down the branch. Hanji stared at her confused at what she just said.

Rie searched for Levi well half-searched since she doesn't really like apologizing to someone like him but she can say that what he said was right…in normal standards anyways..

She found the group eating and Levi drinking his tea in a manner that Rie found strange.

 _Who holds their cup from the brim?...Him, I suppose.._

She approached the group and they noticed her. She was just staring at Levi. All of them waited for a response from the 16-year old. Rie cursed herself for not thinking on what to say before approaching the group but it's too late now to reprimand herself . She should say something before the silence become awkward.

"Are you going to say something or are you just going to stand there all day?" She heard Levi comment. She got annoyed but knew that this is not the right time to be so.

"Just so you know, my statement still stands. If you guys die, don't expect me to grieve" She looked at Levi.

"You didn't learn anything at all-"

"But… Since you did save my life…The least I can do is put my trust in you"

"and," Rie faced Petra "You said I'm your friend right?" She neared her face so close to Petra that the woman herself had to back away a bit.

"You better stick to your word…'cause I'll take it seriously" Rie half smiled and half smirked,Petra couldn't tell which. Her words made her pray that she won't do something unexpected or dangerous for her. Still, Petra can't believe that Rie smiled and she was just glad that they can trust each other now.

A few moments into the expedition, Erwin announced that they'll retreat before the casualties grow too large. The expedition covered more ground than the last one and they were satisfied with that…

"15-meter to the right!" Petra shouted to Eld who nodded to her.

"Petra! Behind you!" She heard Oluo shout and looked behind her to see a titan looking down at her.She jumped away just in time before it grabbed her and rolled down the field.It was about to grab her again and Petra scrambled to her feet.

BANG*

Sound of gunshot was heard. The titan fell to it's side. Petra stared at Rie who was already at her side.

"Be careful" was her short response before offering a hand to Petra which the woman took.

•••

They returned to the Walls with minimal casualties added and the soldiers went on to rest. Rie went to a nearby village and luckily found a tree. She climbed it and sat on it's branch. She caressed her gun and rested on the bark of the tree.

"So you are here"

"Erwin." Rie acknowledged his presence which was a first to her. She did not looked at Erwin and just rested her back staring at the lovely leaves of the tree.

"How was your first expedition?"

"Interesting"

"Mind making a clear answer?

"I learnt things about others, I guess. How you operate and everything"

"I see" She heard Erwin walked under her branch and stood, watching the kids play around.

"I assume you heard from the two?" Rie asked

"You assumed correctly. It was a good thing it was resolved quickly.Though…

What do you mean when you said to Hanji by normal standards?"

"Should I say it to you?"

"If possible. Or would you rather tell it to Hanji, your friend?" for some reason,Rie felt like Erwin is smirking

"Don't tease me like that but I did say that I will trust you guys"

Erwin waited for another response but silence met him.It wasn't another moment Rie started to talk.

"Honestly, Erwin, You may or may not have noticed this but I think differently than the others consider normal" Rie's right arm hung loosely.

"I noticed this before. I don't understand the value of another's life. I don't even see a human. In my eyes, everyone is part of a background. A black background. To me , they are just moving shadows. And I take pleasure in eliminating those shadows."

She reloaded her gun and aimed at a nearby kid. The child was crying, searching for it's family.

"This is how I think." Her aim stilled on the crying child

"Killing anyone was really trivial since I can't muster any guilt for these shadows" Her fingertip found the trigger.

"The records you found about me? The crimes that was recorded there wasn't even half of what I did"

A woman approached the crying child who happily hugged her. The lady was young seems like it's his big sister. Rie lowered her gun.

"I'm surprised the MP didn't come for you"

"Bunch of pussies. Can't handle a kid half of their age. Though I did get away because of a little connection I have"

"Well, I do hope you see us as humans" Erwin looked at the girl above him who was playing with a leaf.She turned over and smirked at the Commander.

"Don't worry. You guys are in a special category in my eyes, much more special than being seen as a human by me"

"I see"

"So?"

Erwin shot a confused look at Rie who looked annoyed at him

"Well, Here I am. Saying personal stuff about me to you..How 'bout you do the same?"

"…Would that please you?"

"Very" She smirked.

"It's just one question and I want you to answer it honestly" Rie added.

"What is it?"

"Why do you do this? I mean Why do you still go outside the Walls? Ya know what I mean"

"…It's for humanity to-"

"Bullshit"Rie interrupted

"I know that's not the reason. Knowing your personality, I doubt it's like that"She added,growing impatient at his games

"I don't understand you.It is-"

"Erwin."

"You are not going to let this go , are you?"

"Yep"

" *sigh*….It's.. a dream of mine.. To put it simply, I want to know the truth of these Walls. I know these Walls hide a secret and I want to know…No matter what it takes"

"No matter how many lives I have to step on"

Rie was actually surprised at it. He was willing to sacrifice everything just to achieve his dream even if he was hated. Even if he was called a heartless ,cold murderer. Kind of like her. She wants to know what happened. She would do anything just to find out. Even if she kills for it. Even if others hated her for it.

"Wah~…You earned it" Rie said in which Erwin stared at her with another confused look.

"Earned what?"

"My respect. Real respect from me" She smiled at him.

"So it's nothing important"

"Woah. How mean" Rie sarcastically said.

"….That dream of yours…You know you'll die early like that"She added

"I would risk my life for humanity to take a step forward to the truth"

"……That's… no fun. At least try to live…that way it would be more interesting"

"So it's for your interest?"

"That's how I know what to do next anyways. If something piqued my interest, you sure as hell know I'll be there"

"Anyways, if you're not planning on surviving then I'll have to make sure you don't head off to your death then"

"Oh? And how do I make sure YOU don't head off to your death?"

"Hm..I dunno..Not like I head to my own death since I want to survive but…Maybe you?"Rie smirked at him.

"I'm busy enough as it is and keeping you in line is hard enough.. Just try not to die then"

"Hah! You'll die first before me, I'll make sure of that though that means we'll be living long then"

Erwin nodded and walked away first, leaving the girl alone up the tree.

"Guess It'll be interesting from now on"

Hey guys! So last chapter was uploaded 1 month late, right? So I've been thinking and I decided that I would create a Christmas special chapter, if it's alright with you guys?Uhm..in explanation for Rie's "Vision" then maybe I would create a poem or something like that to explain what Rie sees in her eyes.So yeah that's it. THANK YOU GUYS.RR!


	9. Christmas Special Chapter

**Merry Christmas to you all!! Well,maybe not yet in your country or maybe you read this after Christmas but still. Anyways here's a Christmas special chapter~**

 **•••**

It was a chilly morning inside the Walls.Snow fell throughout the whole street. Children playing in the snow can be heard...

Rie woke up and stretched on her bed. She yawned and scanned her surroundings and felt the room colder than usual. She opened her window and a cold breeze hit her face and she shuddered.

 _'Ah. That's why..It's already snowing...Come to think of it..It's already December'_ Rie went to the bathroom and took a warm bath. She dressed in a much warmer clothes composed of a red poncho coat with white cotton on it's bottom edge part(searchforit), black long sleeved shirt paired with black leggings, and black boots.She even wore a pair of gloves to keep extra warm.

Feeling it's already warm enough to survive outside, she went out.She's not really heading anywhere particular, she's just wandering around. It's a habit. She always did used to wander around just to find anything interesting to do.

She went to the nearby village and walked around.Some of the vendors selling fruits and whatnot are not here but some are still selling, not fruits, but rather some toys or stuff that are sellable.She noticed two children throwing snowballs at each other. Rie mentally reprimanded the other kid for not being able to dodge such a weak throw.

That's when her stomach rumbled. She did not have any breakfast. She searched around for a diner or even a bar as long as she can eat something. She found a diner who serves breakfast and also warm foods that is perfect for today.After walking in, the homey feel she felt was a little bit nostalgic. It was warm enough inside and glad she was able to warm her face. She searched around for an empty table but found none. What she did found was her comrades,namely Petra,Eld,Gunther,Oluo and Levi sitting on a table chatting while waiting for their food.

Rie approached them, hoping she could get to sit. The group noticed her and Petra waved her hand while smiling.

"Rie! Nice to see you here!" Petra beamed at Rie in which the girl dislikes the most. She's almost practically blinding her with that..over cheerful smile but still she appreciates that it's towards her.

"You're dressed quite nicely...for once. Going somewhere?" Eld smirked at her in which Rie tilted her head in confusion. She is..dressed quite nicely for once..what they meant by that is, she is dressed like a girl for once. Her casual clothes were composed of men's clothes.She never wore skirts or even blouses. They remembered she once mentioned that she doesn't feel comfortable wearing skirts.

"It is?" She observed herself. She wasn't quite sure of that but since this was warm, she wore it. Angelica was the one who gave her these clothes saying I will look more feminine in these. She says, I should wear it if I really don't want to wear skirts but these clothes back then were too big for me but she told me to keep it anyway and wear it when I grow bigger.

"Yeah. Quite unique though. I've never seen anyone wear something like that" Gunther pointed to my pants and boots.

' _Oh so that's why, people were staring at me earlier'_

"Humph. I can't believe a girl like you got yourself a guy before me"Oluo muttered but Rie heard it perfectly and got confused again.

"Anyway, Rie.. Why don't you eat with us? I'll even treat you!"Petra smiled and I agreed.She motioned to the chair next to Levi and she was about to sit.

"Ah.Levi-I mean.. Captain. 'Morning" She greeted and Levi nodded at her. She sat next to him and made herself comfortable. The four members are staring at her like they're expecting her to say something more to him but Rie only got confused again for the third time this day.

Petra was about to say something but was cut off by their food arriving at their table. They ate their breakfast and chatted with each other. After they ate, they went out of the diner.

"I'm going back to HQ. I had some papers to attend to. Thanks" Levi said.

"Oh. We understand, Captain. We'll just walk around some more and we'll head back" Petra sounded a little disappointed but still smiled anyways.

Levi headed back to the Headquarters. The Petra and the others stared at Rie.

"Rie , you really did not greet him, huh?" Petra said.The girl got confused at her words.

"Him?"

"The captain!"

"Huh? Didn't I greet him goodmorning earlier? You guys were there"

" She doesn't mean that" Eld said and upon seeing my confused face, he sighed.

"So you don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

"It's the Captain's birthday today!"Petra almost shouted.Rie almost backed away in surprise.

 _Wait.That guy has a birthday?_

"Well since you didn't know it's his birthday today, I assume you don't have a present either?"

Silence met them and their questions were answered.

"What did you get him anyways?" Rie asked,since she doesn't know what he likes anyways. Rie really doesn't want to give him a present...but since she did owe them...owe him an apology, she'll do it.

"I got him tea! My grandmother brewed it from rare ingredients and when I tasted it, It was heavenly! So I asked my grandmother on how to brew it and she taught me and so I gifted captain packs of those and also taught him to brew it too!" Petra's face beamed and she was excited like a kid who got candy.

"I gave him some great cleaning supplies since I saw he was running out of it..You already know he likes to clean" Eld said and Rie nodded, remembering how she was ordered to clean a room for 3 times, every inch.And when he said to do it over again, She broke the broom in half and remembered how Levi chased her all day with a dark look on his eyes.

"I gave him a bottle of wine, in case He want to relax sometimes" Oluo smirked.

" and I gave him a comfortable chair. He sometimes sleep on his chair and it looks really uncomfortable so I gave him one where you can sleep in" Gunther finished.

So all of them really thought about their gifts,huh? Should I too also? Rie thought in her head.

"Oh, right! You were going somewhere! Sorry to keep you late! We'll head off now! Don't forget to buy him a present!"Petra said and the rest of them went on the other way while I walked on the opposide direction.

•••

I don't really know what to give Levi. Well, I know he's a clean freak but I can't give him cleaning stuff, Eld already gave him some.

I entered some random shop and hope I could find something there.I found some clothes but I don't really know what his preference in fashion is...Oh, maybe some decorations for his room?...

Yeah, no way. I bet if he makes me clean everything in his room, this will only add up to the list...

 _Ugh.There's nothing else I can think of.._

Seriously,when did I had so much trouble in picking a gift? Why do I have to consider whether he likes it or not?

...cuz it seems I'm not really apologizing if I do that.. *sigh*

I didn't realize I entered a shop already. It was a small shop enough for a person to fit through. There was a man on the counter, working on the counter. I scanned at the items displayed on both of my sides and saw these are all made of glass.There are vases with beautifil designs, Tableware with a simple pattern decorated on it, and tea sets...

Oh,Tea sets.

Petra mentioned she gave him tea..

Yeah,This will do. Though... I want something on it...

Rie approached the man behind the counter and talked to him. The man nodded and Rie paid cash...

•••

Later that night, Rie knocked on Levi's door and peeked inside.

"What do you want, Rie?" Rie saw Levi sitting on his chair,rather.. a comfy chair guessing it was Gunther's gift, sipping on his usual tea cup.

"Mind heading out?"

"I'm busy-"

"I'll get Hanji"

Levi stood up and clicked his tongue.The night was quiet and he was thankful for that. Now if this girl grabbed that Stupid glasses here, It'll only destroy this peaceful silence.

What does she want anyway? To be honest, he was surprised she went to his room and did not throw anything at him like usual. Usually, she would throw random stuff at his room,like bugs,dirt(sometimes even mud) or rather anything at all just to annoy him or get revenge for making her do something for no reason.

Both of them sat at the porch in silence.Levi was waiting for her to say something but she's just staring at the stars.She finally grabbed something beside her and reach it out to Levi.

"Happy Birthday, Levi" Rie said in a monotone voice, you really couldn't tell if it was sincere.

"What's inside? Poison?" Levi took the gift and took notice of how it's a bit heavy. He was surprised that Rie gave him a gift since he thought she doesn't know.

"I wish...Now that you said that,..Wait here. I'll buy some" Rie was about stand up but Levi pulled her to sit back down.

"Like hell you will" He said and opened the gift.

"I'll buy tomorrow" She muttered. She watched as Levi unwrapped her gift to him.Then he grabbed the gift which was a teacup.

The teacup was a little bigger than his current one.The whole was white and it's border were designed intricately by gold spirals and small dots of red was seen filling the space between the spirals.It was beautiful and looked expensive.

"I didn't really know what to give you but when I saw that, I instantly thought you might like it"Rie explained staring back at the star-filled skies again.

"So you cared about my interests?"

"Psh yeah. That comes along with an apology for..that time. Hanji or Erwin must have mentioned it to you, I still don't understand the value of others' lives but many,my sister included, have told me that was not normal but my sister accepted me even if I'm not normal,different..."Rie stared at the stars, for some reason, it makes her calm.

"That's why...uh _sor_ _ry_...For you guys,What I said that day was wrong for you but I'll try to change" Rie said,looking away.

"...you don't have to.It's not like you can change who you really are.The best you can do is to learn from your mistakes... _so you won't make decision you'll regret_..."Levi said,silenec followed for a moment and that,for Rie, assured her she was forgiven.

"With that said! I can finally stop being nice to you!"Rie stretched

"I don't remember a damn time you were like that"

"You call those being mean to you? Hah! Just wait for tomorrow and the coming days!"Rie's smug grin was shown on her face.

"You could have given this to me in the room"

"Nah.Your room's boring. I like the stars better."She commented and pointed up to prove her point.Levi scanned her gift again and noticed something on the handle.

 _Oh,so that's why she wants it outside where it's a bit dark._

"Oi,Why was your name written on this" Rie suddenly got surprised at the change of topic.

"Oh,You noticed" In the side of the handle of the teacup were what looks like the golden spiral designs but if you have a keen eye, the spirals were connected and formed the letters R,I and E.

"I put that so ya know I'm the one who gave that to you! You'll also give me something worth like that in my birthday!"

"You have a birthday?"

"Funny. I said the same thing today" Rie smirked

"If you didn't give me anything, I'll annoy you 5 times..no 10 times than usual"Rie stood up and waved goodbye

"I'll be sleeping now. You should too. You'll die quicker...Right, don't sleep"She commented before she went to her room.

Levi watched the stars for a little bit and head off to his own room.

•••

The next day,

The Special Operations squad was having a meal in the dining room and Rie passed by.She saw Levi drinking Petra's tea using the cup she gave to him!

"Oh! You're using it!"Rie exclaimed loudly.

"Rie, what..?" Petra's face was confused at Rie's words.

"That cup...It was my gift to him" Rie said,pointing at the cup Levi's using.

"Don't pride yourself. I used it because the old one was broken"Levi commented. The boys of the SpecialOps squad decided to keep quiet about how they saw their captain breaking his old cup and throwing it in the trash.

"Uh-huh. Hey,you're tea is almost gone now...Want me to pour you a cup?" Rie innocently asked while holding a different teapot than the one Petra used to put the tea.

Rie wasn't being nice at all.She may have not been able to buy poison but she did bought something that will make him stay in the bathroom for weeks.

"Drink that yourself" and Levi wasn't one to not notice her fake innocent tone, the different teapots Petra and her held and the smell of the tea.

Rie showed dissappointment in her face and put down the teapot on the side.She exited the room and went over to what seems like the direction to Levi's room...

•••

 **So,here it is! The christmas special chapter~**

 **It's more like the continuation of the last chapter and they're not really celebrating Christmas but rather Levi's birthday which is on December 25!**

 **I wasn't sure if the Snk universe celebrates Christmas,anyways so I didn't include it.**

 **Btw, the chapter was more like a LevixRie huh?**

 **B-BUT I MEAN, THEY'RE FRIENDS/RIVALS/COMRADES!**

 **I _SWEAR_ that I don't plan on making them a ship or something ahahaha...**

 **It...It was to show how Rie really felt about Levi. If some don't understand. She was being herself and Levi was fine with it(except for her being annoying) which shows that Rie trusts him enough to show what she really is and not only him but to Hanji and Erwin.**

 **And Maybe It doesn't show here but Rie now respects Levi as a Captain,Someone who is strong and capable.In future chapters, Rie will sometimes depend on Levi unlike her usual independent attitude!**

 **So,see you guys next month!**

 **RR**


	10. Chapter 7: Together Again

"9 meter titan! East!"

"I got it"

After saying it, the person with silver white hair swooped down in an almost arc to the nape of the titan, slicing two parallel lines on it.

She stares down and smirked at her kill while floating down and landing gracefully at the grass.

She raised her bloody blade and swung down at the air forcefully to attempt to remove dripping blood. The blood on her cape was slowly dissappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"112..." She muttered

"Rie...!" Hearing her name, Rie turned around and saw her friend and comrade, Petra Ral, coming over to her with an extra horse on her right.

"Thanks" Rie said to Petra and proceeded to climb on her horse. Petra sighed quite loudly but it did not bother the young girl...well,she is not a girl anymore.

It's been two years since her arrival in the Survey Corps. Five years after the Wall Maria fell. She did say, she just turned 18 so she is now a young lady.

'Although, Captain says she got older but her mind and personality didn't'

Petra thought and couldn't help but agree. Despite Rie getting older and getting used to the Survey Corps, her almost child-like personality remains.

She still kept playing "pranks" and doesn't end the day without at least annoying a couple of people(Levi) , She still refuses to work with anyone although being able to with us,her squad (Other soldiers[and slaving,undermining,threatening them]). Refusing orders because she felt like it (Erwin) and confusing others by her constant mood changes to cold into playful and then vice versa.

Petra observed the girl who was ready to go back into the field and remembered earlier events.

"Still counting your solo kills again?"

"Anything just to raise it up and brag it to Levi's face"

"...Well, at least..I'm not hearing Oluo's bragging anymore..but"

"Rie, I know you want to get your solo kills as high as possible but please..! At least, don't leave your horse on the field! What if it runs off? Or gets injured? I'd be hard to find another good horse like this again!" Petra told her off but the whole time she was looking at her, She felt her vein almost popping.

The blank look and the silence she was giving off convinced her that she wasn't listening at all. Her eye twitched in annoyance at her attitude.

This girl... Petra really thought when Rie suddenly confirms her friendship with her at that day, she thought she was going to be a little more nice.

Well, she did really. She trusts us now.

but she thought she was going to see a new side of her. A Rie that has a nicer attitude .She expected her to smile whenever she talks to them or just be a normal friend that do normal friend stuff.She didn't know why she expected her to be a clingy friend who favors her friends over anyone else.

'But that's just impossible,huh? I mean it's Rie. Cold yet playful Rie. A girl who looks down on others even if they are a higher position than her. A girl who wouldn't hesitate to tease and annoy someone if given a chance...'

'A Rie who is clingy and her whole personality just changes in a flash when a friend is near? A Rie who is , I don't know, so overlyprotective and overly nice to that friend?...Can't see it happening...ever'

"Petra, You've been thinking to yourself for a while now. Kinda creepy with that nodding and snickering ya doin'. Cut it out" Rie interupted Petra's thoughts and looked at her with a mixture of fear and disgust in which Petra hung her head low dejectedly.

"Yep.Really Impossible" She muttered.

•At the same time...•

"The Trost gate has been breached! I repeat, this is not a drill. The Trost Gate has been breached! Escape the citizens!"

"The Colossal Titan appeared!"

"It destroyed the gate"

"Hurry! Assemble the military!"

"Make the Trainees join too!"

•••

For now, The Survey Corps are camped temporarily at a small forest with a few trees,enough to hide them from titans and enough to see them approaching.

Rie just returned from her watch duty which she always volunteers for. She joined up with the Special Ops squad and headed to Erwin and Hanji to discuss further plans, well only Levi. The others are ordered to rest for the meantime.

"Rie"

"What? Levi?"Rie looked to her left,realizing her mistake of calling him by his name when soldiers are around. He stared for a moment before speaking up.

"Why're you so far away?" And Indeed,Rie was 2 meters away from the group.Rie blinked.

"I'm keeping my distance from _such_ _an awesome and talented group. I feel like an outcast with my useless and weak self_ " Rie said in a monotonous voice.

"What the hell are you spouting? Come over here and-"

WOOSH* *thud*

Just then, a sound of something falling and a soft thud was heard below. Levi looked behind him to see Petra, Eld and Gunther looking at what seems like a deep hole.They stood there shocked because _someon_ _e_ fell in.

"tsk"Hearing that from the girl who was 2 meters away, Levi had a pretty accurate assumption of what happened.

All five of them peeked deep inside the hole to see Oluo, sitting on the end and coughing.

"Dammit Rie!! Is this your doing as well???!!!" Oluo coughed out. Despite Rie's pranks aimed at a certain midget, the victim was always Oluo. Even the Tea Rie made back then,Oluo was the one who ended up drinking it and getting stuck in the bathroom for weeks.

"Rie...when did you had the time to dig this up?" Petra sweatingly smiled at the young lady. A hole this deep could take her at least two hours but they just arrived here and she was on watch duty!

"Oh. I dug this up a long time ago, back when I was still roaming outside. **I put there all of the corpses I found outside,their ashes are probably there and some small bones or something just so I could give them a grave"** Rie suddenly increase the volume of her voice,making sure the person down there can hear it.

Rie almost snorted at the pale faces of the three,Levi is still boring with his ever-so-present grumpy face. She didn't really put corpses there, She just put whatever dirt or filthy stuff she can find and put it all in there figuring the clean freak would go berserk if he fell in.

"R-Rie! Damn you!! Get me outta he-GAH" The five peeked in at Oluo to see his tongue outside and blood seeping out of it.

"He bit his tongue" Gunther mentioned.

"Kuh." A snort followed by snickering was heard.

"Seriously, you're not even riding a horse this time and you still managed to bit your tongue" And ta-daa, Rie's annoying smug face has shown itself again. There were so many victims to that smug face that just by looking at it, her previous victims still find it annoying even if it's not directed to them.

That is why, Levi also pushed her in.

"Wah! " She hit Oluo with a thud and the guy suddenly went unconscious.

"Levi! You bastard!" Rie screamed and other soldiers seems to hear the young lady's distress but seeing the look the Captain was giving to them, they chose to ignore it.

"Let's go"Levi said and left,his footsteps fading away. The others reluctantly tried to leave.

"Petra, wait!" Rie shouted for Petra.She looked up at her and closed her palms in a begging manner.

"Help me get out please.You're my friend. It's kind of dark in here and I'm alone with a man. Who knows what kind of things might happen" Rie pleaded with her most convincing voice.

Petra stared at her for a moment then her expressions changed to shock but then to disbelief but then turned to doubt to realization to disgust to pity and finally fear.Her skin tone getting paler and paler with each expression.

"Wait there!" Petra left in a hurry and the two men was left there.

"...Rie, I thought you don't know about those kind of stuff" Eld peeked and said to Rie who only blankly stared at him

"...what stuff?" She tilted her head in confusion. She was only taught by Angelica that a man and a woman must not be alone together in a dark place with no romantic relationship at all. Even if she does not know the difference between romantic and familial or friendship, she can assure herself that Oluo and her has no relationship that can compare to the relationships she has with her friends which then brought what Angelica taught her to her mind.

"Here, Rie! I found a rope!" Petra came back and threw down the other end of the rope while she held on tightly on the other end.

"Thanks, Petra" She smiled but to the two men, it was a sly smile. It was kind of scary how this girl's mind works without even knowing a thing and using it for her benefit.

As Rie climbed on the rope, she can't help but be confused at the success of plead. She doesn't really know what happens when a man and a woman are in a dark place...They fight to the death? or do they go rabid? and it's not like Oluo can do something..He's unconscious. She's not really sure what went on Petra's mind when she said that.

She finally got out of the hole and patted the dirt off of herself and stretched.

"You should have brought Oluo" Eld mentioned,feeling sorry for the unconscious guy that was still below.

"I can't carry a man. I'm a frail woman" She spoke to them which lead the three to look at her in a strange way.

"Well, I can't carry him also" Petra mentioned and the other two men also looked away.The four of them stared at Oluo...

"We'll just wait for him to wake up" With that, they left.

•••

~Meanwhile~

"A titan that kills other titans?"

"You! Prove to us that you're not an enemy of humanity"

"I'M A HUMAN!!"

"I have a plan. If we use his power, He can pick up that boulder to cover the breach at the gate then maybe..we can take back the land that was stolen from us by the titans...for..the first time for humanity"

•••

"Hey, why are we retreating back to the wall suddenly?" Rie asked her squad, specifically Levi but the guy keeps ignoring her.

Knowing she won't get any answer, she speed up the pace of her horse to reach the front of the formation,where Erwin is.

"Rie-" She heard Petra called out but she was already far ahead. Other soldiers stared at Rie used to her breaking formation whenever she wanted.

Erwin noticed her and slowed his horse down a little so Rie could reach him.

"What is it, Rie?"

"Why're we retreating so suddenly?...and in a hurry?" She asked him in between long breaths from the fast pace she put on her horse.

"Levi didn't tell you?"

"He's ignoring me"

"A messenger reported to us something urgent. The Colossal Titan appeared and made a breach to the Trost gate. For now, the Garrison are doing their best in handling the situation but they still need us" Erwin explained,looking in front, in which Rie blankly stared but it was evident she was listening.

"Ohh.Trost gate got breached" Her monotone voice drawled on.

"...Seems like you are not alarmed nor worried" Erwin glanced a look at her.

"..Am I supposed to?" She replied,looking in front of her.

"...No.I guess not. Knowing you, I should have expected that" He let out a small smile in which Rie did not fail to notice and could not help but let out one too...secretly.

"...Saying that, As if you knew me for a very long time"

"Two years can say a lot"Rie hummed ,implying that she can agree on that. She did learn about some of them in just the two years that passed..but not all of it.

"Well..are you?"Rie asked in which Erwin looked at her with a confused glance.

"Ya alarmed...or worried...?...because the Trost gate got destroyed.."Rie asked but was met with silence

"...I would say because humanity needs us that is why I am alarmed of this situation"

"Hm. But the interesting part is the Colossal Titan. Why did he suddenly appeared after 5 years? Why now? And only the Trost gate?...is what your mind is thinking, I presume?" She smirked at Erwin but the man only stared at her and replied with a small smirk and looked in front of him again which dissapointed the silver white-haired girl.

"...But really, The **MOST** interesting part here is the garrison doing the best they can to handle the situation.Huh. What are they doing, I wonder" She smirked.

•••

"Mikasa! Eren's awake! He is doing his part! Let us see Eren to the gate and victory will be assured!"Armin exclaimed to Mikasa and the leader of the group.

"GUARD EREN WITH YOUR LIVES!!" The leader shouted.

"We will protect Eren until he reach the gate even if it's the last thing we do!!"

Soldiers started using themselves as bait to remove the Titans that is standing in the way of Eren. His titan form is carrying the big boulder and is heading his way to the breach.

"Mikasa, Armin! Join with Eren! That's an order" The two were surprised but nonetheless followed.They followed Eren.

A titan blocked Eren's path and Mikasa acted quick and killed it.

Eren was nearing the breach.Only a few more steps.

"GOOOOO EREEEEEEEENNNN!!!!!" Armin screamed and a resounding roar followed. Eren dropped the boulder on the breach...The breach is covered.

It's a victory for humanity.

"Today...for the first time...Humanity...had the upper hand..." Rico Brzenska fired a yellow smoke flare signalling the operation's success.

There was a moment of silence but then Rico noticed other titans closing in on Eren.She acted quick.

"The other titans are coming! climb up the wall!" Rico ordered.

"We'll retreat as soon as Eren recovers!" Mikasa said and headed for Eren and Armin.

Armin pulled Eren out from his Titan form but his lower body was still stuck on the nape.

"He's stuck!"

"No choice, we have to cut him out"Rico readied her blades

"Wait just a moment!"Mikasa tried to intervene but Rico wasted no moment to cut his arms off.

Armin,who was holding Eren, fell down.They only noticed the two titans closing in.

"Eren!! Armin!!" Mikasa shouted

Armin tried to run but gears were heard. A person swiftly killed the two titans in one motion.Eren managed to peek an eye open.

"These are..."

Levi's cape fluttered in the wind.He stood over the two titans.

' _The Wings of Freedom_...

"Hey...you brats. Mind telling me what the hell is going on here?"Levi spoke to the three.The two was silent and stared in awe, Eren finally lost consciousness.That's when another person wearing the cape appeared.

"Levi, this area is cleared.The others are searching for any Titans in other areas. Also, Erwin expects you to report ...something interesting back to him"A female voice spoke to the Captain with such a carefree attitude that it surprised the two trainees.

'Silver hair...?' Mikasa stared at the just arrived person who was talking casually to Humanity's Strongest.Her hair...is just like..

' _She can't be...'_

"Speaking of Interesting stuff, Is this the Titan earlier? That was carrying that boulder and covered the breach?...What the hell was that?.. _amazing_ " Rie muttered the last part. She poked the disintegrating Titan form of Eren Jaeger with her blade,carving small slices.

"That's what I want to know" Levi returned his glare to Mikasa and Armin who was still holding the still unconscious Eren

Rie,noticing he was staring at something behind her, turned her head to see what it was or _who_ _it wa_ _s_.

Her calm and bored red eyes slowly widened at the sight.Her lips slowly broke apart but no breath came out. She was speechless and was so shocked , she didn't have time to breathe properly.

"...Mi..Mikasa?...Armin..? and...Eren?" She managed to say. Seeing Rie's reaction, Levi stared at her. He took notice of the change in her usual bored and smug expression.How her eyes softened when she saw those three. How her lips quiver and open and closed. Her short gasps.

"..No way...Rie?...Is...Is that...really you?" Mikasa was no better. Her calm expression was no longer evident. Her face looks like she wants to cry.

"You're...alive" Both of them said to each other.That confirmed it for Rie. She dropped her blades in a flash and ran her way to the three.

Reaching them, she crushed Mikasa and Armin in a tight hug.She did a sharp intake of breath.Her hands touched every part of their back and even their hair, confirming they exist.

"You...I...I thought you guys...died" She said,closing her eyes. As the situations calls for her to cry, Rie simply was just too glad and relieved that all she can do is just show a true peaceful smile.

"We...We thought that too but...Eren...really didn't believe it and..we did too and..I... am glad it isn't true"Mikasa hugged back,letting a few tears trickle down her face..

They stayed like that for a few short moments...

"Speaking of Eren, What is happening?" Satisfied with that, she tried to go into a serious mode for now.She lifted Eren and took notice of his arms that has no hands and smoke coming out of it.

"We just only knew this now but Eren has the ability to turn into a Titan." Armin started explaining, still was a little shocked from the events.

"Ya mean, Eren's the one who carried the big boulder over there?" She pointed at the boulder that covered the breach on the Wall.

" Yes, He didn't know in the first place he can turn into one. We, him included, only found out when after the Trost gate got destroyed and they send us to help but he appeared in his Titan form and killed other Titans and saw him coming out from the nape of his Titan form" Mikasa followed the explanation in her serious face. Staring at Mikasa, Rie can't help but admire how beautiful she grew up to be.

"So after all that, what made you do this plan?" Levi finally butted in after the heartfelt reunion of the four. He was unable to speak because of various reasons anyways.

"The Garrison find out about Eren and was about to kill us but Commander Pixis stopped them and made us do this plan" Armin answered diligently and saluted to Levi.

"More like, Armin was the one who proposed this plan and Commander Pixis only helped us to have the other soldiers fight with us..."Mikasa said and Armin shyly smiled.

"Although, I'm pretty sure...Eren will be taken away by the Military Police and be taken to court" Armin ended the conversation there.

"and that's it" Rie looked above ,because she was kneeling and Eren was on her lap,to stare at Levi. Levi,with his ever-grumpy expression, walked to the direction of the HQ.

"That's the situation. I'll report back to Erwin. Rie, leave the brat and go back too" Levi ordered walking away

"I'll follow!" She managed to say loudly so that the shortie can hear it and was satisfied with that.Armin and Mikasa stared at the faraway figure of Humanity's Strongest and stared next to Rie.

"What?" Seeing their gazes, Rie assumed there is something on their mind.

"Rie..you joined the Survey Corps?? but...how can that be? If you survived, you shouldn't be in the missing list and if you plan to join the military, you will be put in military training together with us..." Armin looked at Rie but then realized that she will just stay silent. She was gone for so long, he forgot her personality.

"...I didn't survive inside the Walls. I was outside for 3 years.That's when the Survey Corps found me and I joined. I didn't really went through the military training since all we had to do is find my records and change it's contents. They put there that I survived by hiding out and refusing to talk to people and applied for military training before you guys."

Armin was genuinely surprised. Rie told them something and she didn't just stayed quiet. She talked to them. He glanced a look at Mikasa and he can tell she was thinking the same thing.

"...Erwin told not to tell anyone of this even if I met someone I know to avoid the Military police and the higher ups to know I came from outside the Walls. They'll definitely kill me...like Eren..."

"Like Eren...?"

"Eren is a Titan. The Garrison saw him, right? and tried to kill him...since he made such a big scene, He was put into trial and as you know,the people who are in there is rotten and will let fear control them...so you know what decision is popular in the court,right?"Rie stared at their pale faces and even if she did not meant to make them think that way, she has to tell the truth.

"As for me, The Survey Corps just sneaked me in and changed my records so nobody knows, I survived Outside which,by the way, will freak the fuck out of every citizen in damn Wall Sina if they knew. I guess if not for them, I would be put in the same situation like Eren is now."

 _'but not also for them, I would'nt be dragged into the Walls too'_

She thought to herself and snickered...but she ended up joining for real, anyways.

"...Rie...So the Survey Corps. saved you-"

"Hah! Saved me? I was living peacefully outside there! They're the ones who found me and forced me to go back to these Walls that I hate...but I had a choice.. and I ended up joining them..and I learned things from them" Rie smiled. For Mikasa and Armin, her smile was rare and it only showed up once in a lifetime so to see her smile like this again...was really beautiful.

"Rie...you changed"Mikasa spoke to which Rie stared at her in confusion.

"I-in a good way but it's not that I wasn't satisfied with the you before but...you got better"

"...Did I?...oh..Mikasa, Armin. Both of you and Eren have noticed that I was different,right? I didn't really changed but I guess I'm still learning to understand what is normal..Not like I'm going to be normal..More than anyone,you guys know I am not and I don't plan to be...but they are giving me a reason to see them in the same light as you guys"Rie tried to explain but she also made herself confused at what she said.

"...Doesn't mean you guys are equal to them. You guys are my friends. You are in a top category where no one will replace you in me.Now that I think about it, my mindset as a child was really childish now for me. I guess as you grow older, you grow more mature..I mean look at you guys.."

Rie pointed at the both of them...

"Mikasa, you are still the same but you got more overprotective but supportive...Armin, You do not look like someone who gets bullied easily now and you even came up with this plan..and Eren, still the same stubborn brat but I know, his determination can take him places" He patted Eren's head who was still unconscious on her lap.

"...Really, I missed you guys." She smiled just before a Military police soldier arrived and took Eren.

Leaving her,Mikasa and Armin to catch up on things

•••

"Oi, am I seeing things?"Eld said,blinking a thousand times

"I think I am too" Gunther rubbed his eyes and looked at the scene again and rubbed his eyes again.

"What the hell.." Oluo narrowed his eyes at the scene

Petra? Oh.Petra. She's looking at the sky. Why?She's checking if there are Titans flying.

Because the scene they are seeing is unbelievable.Impossible to happen but it's right there in front of them.

What are they looking at?

Simply put, It's Rie.

"Mikasa! You guys are going to be questioned,huh? Be careful on what you say, say something wrong and It will be used against Eren" Rie clinged happily to Mikasa,which the girl didn't mind.More like she was happy.

"By the way, after that operation,you guys must be hungry! Eat at our Headquarters! I didn't put something gross this time since Levi isn't eating! So come on!" She dragged the two to the direction of the Headquarters.

Petra really can't believe it. The captain ordered them to get Rie since she didn't return since earlier and it was already evening. He also mentioned that she was with her friends and explained to us that it was her old friends so we got curious too but Petra really didn't expect anything out of Rie at all.

That's why when she saw Rie, clinging happily to the black-haired asian girl with the red scarf and even offering them a meal?? They were so speechless that they did not move an inch from their positions even when the three passed by them.

"Hi Petra.They're eating here. There's nothing gross in the food, don't worry, I won't do that to them."Rie said leading them to the table.The two saluted first before following after Rie.

•••

 **So,They met :**

 **I tried really expressing the reunion into words that can make someone believe that they are really in an emotional state at that moment so I hoped.it turned out like that.**

 **Maybe you'll get confused that Rie's personality and mindset suddenly changed. Like she was Dark Rie but now she's trying to be good Rie. To explain, Rie is not trying to be good, she is still Dark Rie..She is only caring to the trio and those who has a 'special category' but still she did not change.** **mostly.**

 **So sneaky peeky: Rie will meet Eren next chap. and Rie's quirky?(wat no) sarcastic and (tsundere) I mean, MEAN self will show up since...**

 **It's Rie and Eren.**

 **So with that,see you next month~**


	11. Chapter 8:Those who lost

"Seriously, You grew up and all but your baby face still remains"

"WAH-"

Eren backed up on a wall and just only realized he is lying on a bed.His brain tried to catch up on what was happening. Obviously, you would be surprised when you find yourself in a dimly lit room(?) with a strange woman who was pinching your cheeks and whose face was only centimeters apart from his own.

"Who are you?!" Eren shouted at the woman.He angrily glared at the dark figure in front of him while squinting his eyes to see it's face.He knows it's a woman based from the slightly lower pitch of a female voice. He can't see the woman much from the darkness of his surroundings but when the woman backed away from him and stood up straight, Her silver shoulder-length hair came into view from the dim light of the lantern. He took notice that she is wearing a military uniform and finally the most noticable is her crimson colored eyes.

"What? Only 5 years and ya forgot about me? I'll kick you."She said and that was the only time that Eren find himself perplexed at the sight of the woman in front of him. Not just any woman but his childhood friend.A childhood friend that was missing all this time.

"..Ri..Rie?" Eren continued to stared with his mouth hanging open.He could not find any words to say.His friend that was missing all this time is right in front of him.

"Oh, So ya do remember.Good, if you hadn't, I was sure I'm going to punch you considering your current situation right now" Rie smirked with matching snicker which made Eren confused of her words.He followed her line of sight and saw his wrists locked by what seems to be shackles that are connected to the bed he is currently lying on.

"What..w-where am I?" He stared at the shackles and scanned his surroundings, he found himself what he thought was a room at first but was actually a cell. He felt himself panick. He was very confused on how did he get here and why is he locked up.

 _'Why am I here?'_

"This is the underground cell or whatever. You are currently being held here under the responsibility of the military police." Rie noticed the confused and panick expression Eren has and sighed to herself and explained,putting one hand on her hip.

As if it hit him suddenly,Eren finally remembered what happened. He remembered closing the breach using the boulder with his titan form.He remembered collapsing and what he saw in his last conscious moments was the wings of freedom...

"Ah! That's right! Mikasa and Armin?! Where are they?!" Eren panicked and looked straight to Rie for answers who was annoyed at his loud voice.

"Calm down. They're being questioned.Most likely about you.."Rie suddenly remembered her conversation with the two.

"Ah, Speaking of them. I met with them already...You were unconscious at that time.They told me that you made them believe that I'm still alive. You..believed that I won't let myself die..You believed in me.."She approached Eren and neared her face to his which an action Eren weirdly gotten used to.

"...so with that..Thank you" Once she said that,Eren had a face that showed fear. His mouth is hanging open again.The expression he held is as if he saw a Titan puking shit

"No..way.. Rie..Did you just thanked me?? You??"

"Oi,are you insulting me?" Rie glared at Eren.

"It w-wasn't!" She hopped on his bed and positioned herself over him,straddling his legs under the blanket.

"Wha-?!"

"I'll poke your eyes.seriously.I'll stick my two fingers deep inside your eyesockets. Do that again and I'll really do it" She grabbed on his shirt and readied her other arm and her two fingers. She stared threateningly at him

"Hey! Stop! What the hell?!" Eren struggled,he grabbed Rie's hand that was grabbing his shirt and tried to remove it from his clothing. That was what he planned to do but he almost forgot that Rie's strength was extraordinary before and it seems like it doubled as the years went by.

"It was supposed to be a compliment,like how you changed over the years!.. _but, I guess you did not change much"_ Eren muttered but ,unfortunately, he forgot Rie was on him and heard him perfectly.

"You **really** want your eyes to go, huh?" Rie tried nearing her fingers on his eyes but Eren grabbed her wrist and tried to stop her from making him go blind but It was rather hard because..one, Rie's strength is really hard to restrain and two, his own wrists is locked in shackles which made it hard to move.

The two struggled,sometimes Rie overpowered him and stabbed her fingers straight but Eren would move his head away. It continued like that for a few seconds.

"What the fuck are you doing?" A deep toned voice called out to the two and was immediately silenced.Both of them stared at the source of the voice,only to reveal Levi with Erwin on his side.

"Oh.You two are here." As if there is nothing wrong with their "activities", she calmly hopped out of Eren's bed and straightened her uniform.She exited his cell making her way to the commander and the guards locked the cell door.

"Mind telling me how you got here first before us?" Erwin asked the small girl,compared to his height, who stood beside him.

"Well, I heard that you asked permission to see Eren and upon hearing it was accepted, I immediately rushed here assuming you know why?" Erwin nodded

"The guards was _nice_ enough to let me in,right?"She turned her head to the guards which stayed silent.The other one stood silently but the nervousness is evident in his face and the other one hesitantly nodded.Rie returned her attention to Erwin and smiled innocently

"Very well, I suppose you have no business left here?" Erwin said to her.The whole time, Eren was silently watching.

 _Rie know those two enough for her to speak carefree? and they know her??_

Eren doesn't know what to think of this situation since he got his head full of what is about to happen next.The commander and the captain of the Survey Corps. being here in front of him, means it's something important.

"Oh come on. I,at least, want to see how this goes" Rie smiled at him.The two stared at each other for a while when Erwin broke it off by proceeding to sit on the chair in front of Eren's cell.Rie went to his right side with a face that expresses victory before she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

She glared at the owner of said hand which was Levi.

"I asked what the hell were you doing earlier?" Levi looked darkly at Rie or rather it was his normal face.She swatted away his hand on his shoulder and crossed her arms at him.

"We were talking and acting like how we always do ever since. I don't see anything wrong with that..and please do avoid touching me. I hate skin contact with humans." She glared at him but it was rather different than her usual glare.Levi could'nt pinpoint what it is and he almost blanked out on her.

"Says the girl who got on top of a brat"Levi said, Erwin was staring at them,maybe hoping they would stop any moment now and if they didn't, he would force them to.

"I don't see anything that is improper for you...unless you count a mere "quarrel" between childhood friends as improper. For added information, I choose who I only want physical contact from and those people are my childhood friends" She finished and went to Erwin's right side while Levi leaned on the wall facing the cell.

"I apologize for what you have witnessed, although..It seems you are used to it..to her personality"Erwin started speaking to Eren.He glanced a look at the white-haired girl beside him and Eren hesitantly nodded albeit a small one.

"Huh? What does that supposed to mean?" Rie went up to Erwin's face with annoyance in her expression.Erwin merely stared at her unwavered by her threatening face.

"You are known to have such a troubling personality.Someone merely following her wishes whenever she wanted" Eren was actually surprised.The commander knows her enough to know her personality.

"...Well, I can't say I don't agree..but you don't have to say it like it's a bad thing, It's a great thing!" Rie straightened her back and smirked at him.Great for Rie, not so much for others.

"Continuing on,I can assume that Rie filled you in on where you are and why are you here?"Erwin returned his attention to Eren.Eren nodded nervously.It was kind of nerve-wracking to speak to one of the leaders of the Survey Corps.

"I see.I'll be straight to the point then."Erwin showed Eren a key. It was his basement key.The one Dr. Jaeger left to him.

"That key!"Eren exclaimed, he looked at his chest confirming the missing key that hunged around his neck.

"Back in your parents' house..In Shiganshina..In Dr.Jaeger's basement...lies the truth of the Titans..Am I mistaken?"

"N-no sir...probably not..At least, according to my father" Eren replied.

"You lose your memory and your daddy goes missing..Now, _that's_ convenient" Levi interrupted

"Levi, I told you. There is no reason for him to lie to us"Erwin noticed Levi's doubt.Rie doesn't blame him though.She was the same way to them.

"There is a lot to ask but I feel we should ask first what is it that you want to do?"Erwin asked Eren

"What I want to do?" He repeated

"In order to get to your house, we need to reclaim Wall Maria.The entrance was blocked off by a huge boulder, we would need that power of yours to enter it...Your will is the "key"...The key that can allow humanity to escape this hopeless situation."

"I..."

For a few moments, Eren was silent.The three notice how he hung his head low. He had an unnerving vibe around him, Rie noticing it the most.

"Speak, you piece of shit"Levi barked at him getting impatient.

Then Eren faced them with a wicked smile.No, more like a smile that expresses a mixture of rage,bloodthirst and hatred.

"To kill all Titans,Sir"He breathed out in a tone that sends chills.It was clear in his tone that _that_ is exactly what he wants to do.

"Oh?" Levi caught Rie's attention.His tone was a little bit unusual of him,she thinks.She observed as he walked to the bars of Eren's cell and held them,staring at Eren.

"Erwin,tell the higher-ups that I'm vouching for him.Not that I trust him, I want to be around to kill him if he ever went rogue."

Then that's when the two men notice Rie's glare.Even if Levi isn't facing her, He can feel the heavy dark vibe he's getting from her. The whole room seemed to stay silent for a few seconds .Her heavy aura was hard to miss and was threatening after all.All of them seemed to notice it except for Eren whose head was filled with thoughts of what Levi said to him.

"I doubt that they'll disagree since I'm the only one fit for the job.Consider yourself part of the Scouting Legion"Levi finished and Eren can only gawked at his words.Levi freed the bars from his hands and returned to his original position,glancing a subtle look at the now neutral-faced Rie.

"Stay put here for a while.We'll see if we can talk some sense into them.Don't worry, someone will get you"Erwin stood up and was ready to leave until he looked at Rie.

"I'll follow"Rie said waving them away.

"You can't. We only recieved permission to talk to Eren Jaeger at this point in time.You are not allowed to enter inside after this"Erwin explained to her.Rie looked annoyed but still she understand and obeyed.

"Fine.This will be quick"She said,walking to Eren's cell.She looked at the guards and one of them hurriedly opened the cell door letting her inside.She walked up to Eren and bended down to his height and neared her own face to him.

"What is it?" Eren asked getting a nostalgic feeling from the way she always used to do this.

Rie squinted her eyes at him and looked at him as if solving a puzzle.She observed his face from different angles until she cocked her head to the side in wonder.

"Say, Eren...What happened..?...Your eyes...they changed"Rie spoke to him in a soft manner which surprised Eren.He looked at her red eyes and had another nostalgic feeling but what surprised him was he saw concern in her eyes.

"..A lot happened..When Wall Maria fell.." He looked away from her.He bit his lower lip to try to ease his sadness...his anger. Rie nodded.She straightened her back and was about to leave.

"Rie..How about you?"Rie looked back to him and was confused at his words.

"Your eyes..It looks like It did not change..no..more like it's unusual.Rie..we know Big sis Angelica died...Her corpse was retrieved and buried. Rie-"

"Eren.I...Unlike you who seek vengance, I only want to do what she told me to do,To seek happiness of my own.." She looked down at Eren

"It's fine if I don't seek revenge, She only wants me to be happy after all. She would be dissappointed in me if the life she saved was not happy like she wanted it to be" She smiled at him. A rare smile that was shown only to Eren. With that, Eren can see her sadness,her mental strength and determination.

"Let's go.I'm done" Eren hears her voice and three pairs of footsteps walking away.He hears the cell door closing and a lock was put.

Eren thought about Rie's words.She, Mikasa and him both lost their family in the fall of Wall Maria.Rie continued living her life to be free and happy as she could for her sister's wishes...while I..

No,I am choosing my own happiness and freedom.The Titans are the root cause of it all.That is why we're not free.That is why we suffer.That is why I resolved in killing all Titans..

•••

It has been a while since Eren's last conversation with the three.Actually, he doesn't even know what day or what time it is.All he's been doing is asking for water and going to the restroom.

"Um, May I use the toilet?"Eren asked the guards that was stationed in front of his cell.

"You just went a while ago"The guard replied.

"...May I have some water?"Eren asked once again.

"Oi"The other guard called to him.

"Know your place..monster"

Eren, having heard that, stayed silent.He lowered his head down and thought of his words.

 _Monster.I can't deny that but..._

 _are they really that afraid that they feel the need to restrict me in just about everything?_

 _Well,It's expected.I, myself, doesn't even understand any of this._

 _Maybe I should be grateful they didn't kill me_

 _Come to think of it,they weren't scared of me_

 _and Rie, It might have been just me but When she learned about it, it looked like it lit a spark in her and suddenly changed her treatment of me...though just a little. She looks...interested? A curiosity kind of interest..._

Eren's thoughts broke when she heard the door to this place open and creak as it closesIt was all silent like he is the only person in the place.

CLANK*

"Hello there"Eren would be lying if he said that he almost died from shock because of this woman.The brunette was wearing the standard military uniform.She wears round glasses at it shone in the most creepy way possible.

"I'm here to pick you up"She said...

Eren was let out of the cell but was still handcuffed and the brunette earlier and a tall blonde man with a big build led the way.

"I'm Hanji Zoe, A squad leader of the Survey Corps. and He is.."The brunette introduced herself but the tall man simply leaned towards Eren and sniffed him.

"W-what"Eren tried backing away

"That's Mike.He's also a squad leader.He tends to do this to almost everyone he meets...and smirking to himself" As if on cue, Mike smirked to himself just as she said.

"Oh! We're already here! It's probably better if you know nothing beforehand.Just tell them what's in your mind.We can only have faith in you now"Hanji pushed her in and closed the doors.

Eren looked around and found a court.The court was filled with military soldiers from the Military Police and Survey Corps and others are civilians.

"Move it!"A soldier pushed Eren and he was forced to move.As he walked to the center, all eyes land on him as if he was a walking bomb...well to them,He is.

"Kneel there"Eren followed his orders and kneeled.Then a post was put in between his body and his handcuffed hands.Eren looked to his left and sees the commander of the military police, Nile Dok and also soldiers of the same branch.To his right, Commander Erwin and Captain Levi stood along with other Survey Corps soldiers.

He noticed Rie sitting and was staring off to nowhere,clearly bored out of her mind.Then her red eyes land on his and she showed him a face that (he thought) that was almost mocking and her lips curled a tiniest bit,suppressing her obvious smirk.

Rie waved a hand and smiled at him.Eren,knowing her, knew it was sarcasm.She is having fun.

 _'How can she have fun at a situation like this?...oh right.It's Rie.'_

Eren looked some more around and found Mikasa and Armin behind him.Eren finally put his attention to a man that had just arrived and sat on his desk.

 _'...That's..General Zackley,right?..The head of all three branches'_

"Let us begin, shall we?..You're Eren Jaeger,correct? A soldier who sworn his life to the cause, is that right?"

"Yes sir"

and the trial has begun...

•••

"Sorry about that"Erwin apologized to Eren who was sitting on the couch,tending his wounds.The Trial has ended and the result was in their favor.

"You really did speak up your mind earlier that gave us the perfect chance to play the card up we had prepared.The pain you're experiencing is part of that. You have my respect" He reached out a hand to shake to Eren.

"Yes sir.Nice to meet you too" Eren shakily shook his hand.

Then he was startled by Levi sitting next to him.He panicked for a moment.Levi looked at him.

"Say, Eren. Do you hate me?" He asked Eren.

"N-not at all. I understand the reason why you had to do it" Eren visibly calmed down and looked at his feet.

"Good"

"But still! There are certain limits!" Hanji said to him.

"You knocked out his tooth! Eren, Open your mouth"

Eren complied and opened his mouth just enough for Hanji to see inside.

"Eh?...The tooth...already grew back..."

BLAM*

"Hey, Eren! Ya need to tell me where Mikasa's staying so let's go-" Rie came in suddenly and grabbed Eren's hand and pulled him when a tight grip on their connected hands stopped them.

"Where the hell do you think you're going? I am in charge of the brat-"Levi was holding them-or Rie back.

"Fuck that. I was in charge of him way before you and can control him better" Rie stuck out her tongue at him and forcefully pulled Eren, leaving them.

"Well, that's a surprise. I never seen Rie this "active" before"Hanji commented after they left.

"Maybe she is that happy to see her friends once again"

"Aren't you going to go after them? Rie is capable of handling him but I doubt others will think the same" Hanji looked at Levi who grunted in annoyance in response.

"..and neither are the higher-ups...especially when those two are seen together" Hanji and Levi looked a little bit confused at his words but paid it no mind.Levi sighed and followed after the duo whispering something like beating them up once he finds them.

 **So uhm, I guess I owe you guys an apology.**

 **I didn't update last month either and I'm sorry for that. I know maybe some of you is tired of hearing this but I just wanted to let you know that it's been hard. But I don't want nor expect you to have pity on me since it feels like i'm seeking attention.just wanted to give you guys an explanation.**

 **Well, in my country,Summer vacation is here.**

 **So maybe I'll try my best to upload more chapters.**

 **So, thanks to those who still kept reading this story even though I'm a total beginner in writing one.**

 **Thank you for those who spent time to give reviews.I appreciate it very much.Very.**

 **So, Maybe ,I'll see you guys next month**

 **RR**


	12. Chapter 9: The battle within themselves

Sun rays beam through the branches of a small forest right beside the old castle-like structure that used to be the Survey Corps.'s Headquarters.The fresh morning air blended well with the warm rays of the sun.Despite the peaceful atmosphere of the forest, One can hear the loud echoes of a bullet being shot.

Deep in the forest , A girl with snow-colored hair* sat on the grass, her back on a bark of a tree, holding what seems to be a sniper rifle. She looks bored as she kept her stare on a tree infront of her as if waiting for something to happen.

A small dried leaf fell of the tree.The girl* noticed this and in a quick motion aimed her rifle.As the leaf fell, It swayed from right to left depending on the wind.She pulled the trigger and a bullet went straight to carve a hole to the leaf and finally fell down to the ground.

"A moving object really is great practice..I wonder if those guys are finished?"Rie muttered out loud as she laid her back and relaxed her shoulders.

The Special Ops Squad, with Eren, went to the old Headquarters of the Survey Corps where Eren is to be contained.Of course it is an old building which was never used until now, which explains all the dust and various things it accumulated over the years.

'And Captain Clean-freak comes to the rescue'Rie thought it was bothersome to do cleaning and escaped again and here she is, practicing.

'Well, They just started about two hours ago but knowing him, It'll take at least 5 hours or more..might as well sleep it off'

Rie slid off of the bark of the tree and laid her head in the soft grass, her gun within hand's reach if by chance she is alerted of a titan which she does out of habit.The cool wind and the warm rays that hits her body makes it easier for her to close her eyes.Soon after, she drifted off to unconsciousness.

"Rie! Look at that!" A small girl laughs.

Black hair. Blood-colored eyes that we both share.

"Raven"

Her name echoes throughout my mind.That's right.It's her.

"Rie, Wherever you go, I'll follow"

"Wherever you go, I'll follow" I repeated

"We'll be together forever, we'll never going to be apart"She smiled, her small face tainted with little streaks of red.

"Rie"

Rie opened her eyes to see a woman's face.Auburn hair and Amber eyes looked down at her.

"Petra" She recognized her.She sat up and scanned her surroundings.It was already dark.The moon was out and the stars lit up the sky.

"Geez, If you're going to escape at least tell us where you are going! We searched all over the place!Sleeping outside alone no less! You're a girl, for god's sake"Petra pulled her arm to help her stand up.Rie patted herself for any dirt or leaves that might've gotten stuck on her.

Rie stared confusingly at her.She sense a deja vu at this situation.How is sleeping outside connected with being a female?

"..I can handle myself, though?"Petra stared at her and was in a moment of realization.Her face went red and she opened her mouth to say something but closed it again.

"...Just! Tell us okay?! Anyway, Captain's calling for us."With that said, she pulled her along as they head to the direction of the headquarters.

"By the way...Were you dreaming something good? Your sleeping face was so relaxed and your expression when you were sleeping looks...satisfied?"Petra asked Rie as she pulls her.

Rie stared at her with the slightest and subtle amount of surprise.Her eyes looked away and stared at anything beside Petra's gaze.

"Nothing at all...just..a memory of the past"

Rie and Petra arrived at the Headquarters.Petra greeted the group that was seated around the table and grabbed a seat.Rie with no greeting whatsoever headed straight for a chair to sit on.With a bored look on her face, she put her elbow on the table and rested her head on the palm of her hand while her other hand played with her hair.

"It's kind of hard to believe but...Eren, How does it feel to become a titan?" Eld asked which caught Rie's attention.She momentarily stopped fiddling with her hair and stared at it,focusing on hearing.

"It's kind of hazy.. It's kind of like a feverish state and in order to transform myself, I just need to bit my hand-"Eren cutted his sentence suddenly and stared at his hand.

"You all should be aware of this.You won't get anything new outta him other than the reports" Levi said, sipping on his tea.

"That won't stop her though. Her meddling could even kill you,Eren" He said as Eren stared at him in confusion.As if on cue, a loud knock? or rather someone hit their head on the door broke the silence.

'Speak of the Devil'

"Good evening Levi's squad!!" Hanji burst through the doors and greeted everyone with an annoying smile.Rie stopped paying attention and even crossed her arms on the table and buried her face like she is sleeping.

"You're early"

"How could I sit still now?!" She marched towards Eren.

"Squad Leader Hanji?" Eren muttered in confusion

"Sorry for the wait, Eren.I'm responsible for researching the captured titans and I would like to ask you for your cooperation for tomorrow's experiment" She told him.Eren is still comprehending the situation and even Levi's words earlier.

"Uh..experiment? What would I-"

"What else than that totally awesome thing you do!"Hanji's face turned to pure excitement and even moved her fingers in a strange way.

"uhm, I can't give you permission myself..since I'm not free to decide what I can or can't do"Eren said pointing out to Hanji to ask Levi.

"Levi, what is his plans for tomorrow?" Hanji turned to Levi.

"Cleaning the garden"

"You're settled then!"Hanji cuts him off"See you tomorrow Eren!"

"Hanji"

Hanji turned to the pretending-to-sleep girl who spoke just now.Rie,although half of her face is covered by her arms, she looked at Hanji.

"I'll come along"Hanji blinked at that.Rie usually isn't interested in her experiments.Maybe because Eren is there?

"Fine by me but why though? Worried for your friend over here?"Hanji smirked but it did not affect the girl the slightest.

"Kind of interesting what experiments you're going to do to him..especially if it's you" She said,amusement is clearly heard from her tone.

"We have to come along too huh?"Petra mentioned.

"I know it's expected but Trust me a little,come on!"

"We are responsible for them. One was already your responsible but you still didn't do much"Levi said taking another sip from his tea.

Then a dark aura was felt.Rie stared a cold glare at Levi.

'That bastard..He's referring to me two years ago.Whadya mean responsible for me also? '

Levi returned it with a cold look.

Rie only grew more annoyed at the look he's giving her.It's like he's saying, 'You should be aware of that.Don't tell me you forgot?'.

And the staring(glaring) contest continues...

"..I would like to ask..what is that experiment-"

"Shh! Don't ask her that!"Eren was cutoff by Oluo who elbowed him and whispered.

"Aah~as I thought..You look like you want to know"Hanji started smiling widely.

Then Levi stood up and left the room followed by the other members.Eren confusingly stared at the door which they just left.Rie even left him even though she was just pretending to sleep there.

"It can't be helped,huh?" Hanji said still smiling as if she didn't notice the other members leaving.

•••

Rie went inside her room and plopped onto her bed.She didn't do much today but she feel exhausted.

"Eren's an idiot.Well can't blame him since he doesn't know what will happen if he ask.He'll know now though." She muttered out loud

She continued to stare at the ceiling and turned her attention to the window.The moon was high up and the sky is beautifully decorated by small specks of stars.

She sat up and kept her gaze at the stars.Without realizing, she hummed a tune.

 _'Are you hurt?'_

 _'Are you in pain?'_

 _'Is that okay with you?'_

 _'Tears won't solve anything too'_

 _'Oh, cruel reality'_

 _'Wishing for destruction,'_

 _'Of this cruel fate you laid out for me'_

 _'Nothing will be the same after I wake'_

 _'I will change everything from the beginning'_

 _'Fear,o fear me as I change'_

Rie didn't even realize she was singing although broken words left her mouth,the lyrics still played in her head.

She stopped staring at the evening sky and put herself to bed.

•••

Morning came and Rie stretched.She took a bath and changed to her uniform.She was about to head to where Eren and Hanji is when Moblit, Hanji's assistant, came rushing through the door saying,

"Squad Leader Hanji!The Test subjects! Both Titans were killed!"

In a split-second, Hanji rushed out of the Headquarters passing by Rie and was followed by Eren.Rie decided to see the "scene of the crime".

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! SAWNEY!!!! BEAN!!!!!!" Hanji screamed at the top of her lungs.She held her head and was panicking.

"Look at the leader.She's going mental"A soldier said

"They were valuable test subjects.What kind of idiot would do this?"

Eren was bewildered at the situation but mostly at Hanji when a hand touched his shoulder.

"Who do you think is the enemy?" Eren looked behind him to see Erwin.Eren is confused and is not able to answer.

"Sorry for asking strange questions"Erwin said and left.Eren stared at him but mostly, Rie was the one staring at him in a fixed light glare.

A knock was heard from Erwin's office door.After Hanji's outburst earlier,He left early and went to his office.

"Come in"

As soon as he said that, The door swung open and closed with a loud bang.Rie marched through and faced him.

"What the hell was that earlier?"Rie asked in a rude manner.

"What do you mean?"

"Why were you asking Eren something like that?"

silence...

"What are you planning?"

"I assure you-"

"Erwin, ya think I don't know you? Two shit ton of years gave me enough" She was reverting to her old rude language which shows she is clearly getting impatient.

"If I were to ask you..who would be the enemy?..Who would kill those Titans?" Erwin stared at her.Rie stared back.

"Obviously Humans"She crossed her arms" But of course, the mystery part would be why would they do that.Only reason I could think of is that those titans will be their downfall.They think it's dangerous ..is that what you want me to say?"

Erwin stared at her and smiled albeit a little.Rie noticed it and was surprised but for another reason annoyed.

"So?"

"I suppose I could tell you"

"So the suspect of killing Hanji's titans is from the 104th trainees?"

"Yes I believe so."

"Why?"

"Only a soldier can kill those titans.Quite obvious.So I asked every soldier the same question.Well if we do have an enemy and is targeting Eren,assume you know why?"Erwin looked over to her

"Yeah,Since if those two titans are already a danger to them then Eren is much more since he who's a shifter is helping us...then that means our enemies are shifters too..That makes sense..Anyone wouldn't want anyone else to know his or her weaknesses and if Eren is helping us then they think they're in danger"He nodded.

"On the night of the Ceremony, I plan to make Eren recon the area.If our enemy who is targeting him, did not attack him where it is a perfect time to do so then that would mean he or she is occupied with something"

"Like the Ceremony.Where trainees choose which divisions they're going to go.It would be suspicious when someone doesn't show up huh."

"Correct. I will tell them about how our goal is to reach Eren's basement where the answers to everything about the titans is found."

"So that enemy will show up on the next expedition and that's where you'll capture them?"He nodded once.

Rie breathed out.She was kind of relieved Erwin was telling her this but...the way he thinks..the way he thought of a plan..it unnerves her.

 _'As I thought, Erwin really is dangerous'_

"Glad you actually told me this.Why won't you tell them to the others then?"

"The enemy could be anywhere.We don't know how many they are.You said it yourself.They might be shifters.Titans who possess intelligence.What else do you think possessed that?"

"The Colossal Titan.Eren said he felt it possessed intelligence when it appeared for the second time.The breach 5 years ago...so you're telling me, aside from the Walls self-proclaimed 'we are the only humans left' there are others outside?"

"You survived yourself in Titan-infested lands. I doubt they can't do the same"

"...So with the breach 5 years ago, you think that's how the spy get in?"

"That is why this information is disclosed to those who only joined before the fall of Wall Maria...You, however, proved to be really troublesome though you proved yourself to be trustworthy.I'm not going to lie, You hold the most suspicion for me"

"What?"She shot off an annoyed glance.

"You were from outside.Though originally from here,who knows what you've met there"

"Yeah,like a hell lot of Titans.I told you, all my life out there was killing titans."

"You could've been lying"

" Yeah. I could. But it's your choice to believe me.My defense is that I won't lie to you if you're telling me everything as part of the deal though"She smirked

"Part of the deal? Well I did really tell you this because you were trustworthy." He sounded a bit disappointed in Rie's opinion.

"Is that so?... Well the deal was off halfway through those two years anyway."Having her questions answered,she made her way out the door.

"You guys are really interesting.Good luck at the Ceremony,Commander" With that said,She left.Erwin stared at the door.

•••

The night came and Ceremony started.The special ops squad was ordered to recon the area as Erwin has planned.Throughout the whole ceremony,nobody did attack Eren

 _'Erwin was right. They q attack nor showed up.So it is from the 104th trainees squad...'_

Rie thought as they are going back to the Headquarters.

 _'ah.Tomorrow.The trainees who joined scouting legion will arrive tomorrow.I'll be seeing Mikasa and Armin.Knowing them, they followed Eren.'_

Tomorrow seems interesting.

 **Back at it with another chapter!!Sorry it was a bit late and it was a little bit shorter than the others.**

 **Female Titan arc starts next chapterrrr!!!**

 **This is where the real story begins.Where Rie's story starts.**

 **Sorry it was kind of a bore but please bear with it!!**

 **Also, don't mind me last chapter.I was a bit...dramatic.Sorry for that!**

 **RR**


	13. Chapter 10: She is

Sunlight peers through the window of Rie's room.The blinding light woke her up from her precious sleep.After looking around for a good two minutes,she took a bath and changed into her uniform.

"Mikasa and Armin are going to come today,huh"

Without her knowing,She smiles a little and her sharp cold eyes softens.She goes out of her room to finally,for once, do her duties as per command of her Captain.

"Once again...cleaning"Rie mutters as she picks up a broom and sweeped rather lazily.

"Captain will smack you in the head if he hears you say that"Petra mentions holding a dust cloth in her hands as she wiped the windows clean.Eren is with them too but he is quietly doing his own job.

"As if he can reach it"

Silence replied to her.Rie turned her head to Petra.She is just staring at her.After a while,her mouth curved to a forced smile.Her cheeks puffed and she went red.

"Puh-"She released a small burst of laughter and held her stomach trying to stop it before their Captain hears her.She kneeled down on the ground still holding her stomach and she stayed like that until her giggles run out.

"What the hell are you guys doing,huh?"Oluo stepped in the scene.Looking strangely at Petra who is on the floor.Then he took notice on Rie actually cleaning.

"What the hell? You finally decided to help out,huh? or maybe the Captain finally whacked your head in" He snickered though Rie's expression remained straight.

"Haha... Yeah! I was really surprised, Rie! What's with the change of heart?" Petra said after calming down.She stood up and picked up the dust cloth and patted it.

"You? change of heart? You are capable of that?" Oluo snickered again and pointed a finger at her.

Rie looked at his finger.

She grabbed it and bended it.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH DAMN YOU RIE!"Oluo screamed holding his bended finger.He bended his finger right back to it's original state although earning another painful cry.

Rie left him to sweep other areas like the horse stable together with Eren.Petra giggled and looked at Oluo like he deserved it.

Eren followed after Rie.He stared at Oluo feeling sorry for him but also he kind of knew that will happen since he's pissing of Rie.

But Eren was surprised. Rie really changed so much in 5 years.If it were before, Anyone pissing her off would've been beaten half to death which earned her quite a bad reputation back then at the town,not like she cared anyway.

The most obvious change is she expressed herself more often now although she still keeps that anti-social aura.

"Eren"

"Huh? What?"Eren broke free of his thoughts and responded to Rie's call.He didn't notice they were already at the stables so he started on his own work

"..You're spacing out a lot.What's your problem?"

"Huh? I do?"Eren stares at Rie who was starting to sweep lazily

"It was annoyingly obvious"

"Huh,Well aside from me joining the Survey Corps and how the members are like, you really changed huh Rie?"

" ** _Huh?_** Are we having this kind of talk again?" Rie looked darkly at Eren,her tone as if saying _'Say that one more time'_.

"I-I told you it was a compliment! Before ,you're always having this kind of look like nothing interests you but now you look like you're having...fun?"

Rie's eyes widened at his words.Her mouth opened staring at Eren but her mind is elsewhere.

' _Was I really? '_

Eren took notice of her blank stare that is showing slightest signs of a troubled expression.He didn't notice a group of footsteps that was behind him until a voice called out.

"Hey, It's Eren!" Eren looked behind to see who called him.Rie took notice of them and her eyes softened at the sight.

The 104th trainees squad rather those who joined the Survey Corps went near to Eren.

"You guys!"Eren smiled at the sight of his friends.

"Eren!" Mikasa rushed towards him

"Did they torture you? Are you alright?" That Damn midget..He went too far.I'll kill him"Mikasa scanned his face and her expression dark.

Coincidentally,Levi grabbed his horse and heard her.Rie glanced at him and smirked.

"She's talking about you"She was a little bit disappointed that he did not react and went on his way but she kind of expected it and so she went back to focus on the trainees.

"No way...You guys..really joined"Eren said as he scanned the group.Rie also looked at the faces of the trainees.One was a bit bald.Another looked like Hanji without glasses.Two guys who contradict each other that is to say one was muscular and looks confident and the other looks shy and he's tall.Two girls who also contradict each other;the girl with blonde hair looks weak and the other who stick way too close to the blonde chick looks tough.

and Mikasa and Armin.

' _Okayy,so one of you might be the Corp's enemy'_

"That means..Annie,Marco and Jean joined the Military Police"Eren said ,his tone a bit sad.

 _'Annie,Marco and Jean...those three are also 104th trainees but maybe none of the mentioned names wasn't even an enemy but another 104th trainee who joined another branch '_

Then a guy,who looks like a horse,came up to them.

"Marco's dead" is what he said.

 _'Well obviously.Trainees who is oblivious to the actual danger of titans and then was forced to participate on the Fall of Trost gate. Who wouldn't die? I commend them for surviving that'_

"No way...Marco..is..?"Eren has this horrified look.Everyone looked down, sadness evident in their faces.

"He didn't even go out with a bang.Nobody saw him die."The guy continued.

"...That's expected"Rie blurted out

"Huh?"Everyone turned to her.

"Expecting to die heroically,you would just be dissappointed when you die.Here in the scouts,most would die without even one noticing some even goes missing.You should just focus on surviving."She said what she just thought

"Rie-"Eren was about to speak but he was cut off.

"You brats"Although speaking in a monotoned voice, It earned a slight twitch of their bodies.

"You joined the Survey Corps.You know what you're getting into.Here, death is almost a daily occurence.Your comrades die,you survive.You don't know,maybe some of you here will die the next expedition.It's stupidly pointless to try to act as a sacrifical hero.I suggest not doing it.Survival is top priority.You should be aware of this already."Rie finished and walked out but leaving one last sentence.

"It'll be a waste of good soldiers if you die so,as I said, try to survive like last time _or so would Erwin say..."_ Rie whispers the last part.Her figure gets smaller from the distance.The group stared at her fading silhoutte.

"Who was that?"Sasha asked,feeling a bit uncomfortable from the words Rie left behind.

"She's Rie Vricht.Member of the Special Operations Squad...and our childhood friend"Eren explained to the group.He was stunned by her words although her sharp tongue didn't change.

"She has a sharp tongue but she means no harm"Mikasa defended.

"...But...what she said is true anyway" Armin said"We should now be aware that anyone can die...even.."

"Don't even finish that, Armin"Jean said..

"Ah! The red-eyed devil!"Connie shouted,interrupting the heavy atmosphere they had.

"What the hell are you going on about?"Ymir stared at Connie as if he's an idiot(which she totally think he is)

"There was a rumor back then when we were still training! Although it died out pretty fast.A Survey Corp's soldier who has red eyes and a personality of a devil.Because they don't care if their comrades die or they don't have any human life value at all, that's why they were called devil.It wasn't really believable since red isn't even a natural eye color!"Connie explained

"Yeah,you're right"

"I can't believe an idiot like you knows not to believe in a rumor like that"

"Hey! I know some things! But she does have red eyes...and also I heard they use a gun to kill titans!That is impossible,right?"Eren,Mikasa and Armin was surprised to hear about using a gun.They only know Rie was the one who decided on that.

"Yeah...that might've been Rie"Eren mentioned

"So it's true??"

"She kills titans with a gun?"

"But Rie! isn't a devil!"Mikasa shouted which made them look at her.Her face was serious they were surprised to see her caring for someone seriously other than Eren.

"Y-yeah,Mikasa.We get it"Sasha said trying to calm her down

"...B-but I heard also that she's on par with Humanity's Strongest too! Isn't that so cool?!"Connie mentioned trying to praise the subject of topic to calm Mikasa too.

"seriously?"

"Well, I knew Rie is strong but in par with Captain Levi...?"Eren thought of it.He experienced that she got a lot stronger when he was locked up and was pushing him down but He haven't seen her in the battlefield.He'll see it on the next expedition though...

"Hey! Newbies! Here are your uniforms!" A soldier said and each of them grabbed their own uniforms...

•••

Eren and his friends was having a talk. Rie was just outside stargazing while waiting for Mikasa,Eren and Armin to finish their _bonding_ with the new recruits. They were having a talk about how they will put their trust on Eren.

After a while,the three of them walked out.They spotted her waiting for them.

"Rie"Mikasa smiled at her.

Rie's blank face loosens and her lips curved to a smile in which they are surpised to see.

"I knew you guys would join."She told Mikasa and Armin.

"Mm.Eren would die if I'm not there with him" Mikasa nodded.

"Huh? I won't die even if you're not here!"Eren faced Mikasa with an angry expression but Mikasa calmly just stared at him.

"...Damn right.He's such a bother"Rie coldly says.Her face returned to a blank stare.Eren glares at her next but was ignored by the girl.The four of them walked to who knows where just so they can talk and catch up with each other.

"Rie, how are you doing? In the Survey Corps, I mean" Armin asks.

"Hm.Bunch of morons.Despite being soldiers who faces the Titans almost all the time, Most of them are still idiots who think too shallow.But I Can't say there are no interesting guys here too...Few of them are different from anyone I've known."She says as her eyes wanders around.

"As straightforward as ever,huh?"Armin chuckles at her.

"Really.How can you say that about them? Even your squad? Captain Levi?"Eren asks her.

"Because that's what I see and I did say few of them are different.Levi,my squad even Hanji and Erwin are one of them"

"Hm? You don't call them with titles?"Mikasa asks

"Only when other soldiers are present since Erwin says so. I don't plan on calling someone like that if they don't deserve my respect.For Erwin, I already respect him but I already grown accustomed to calling him that"Rie says in one go.The three of them was genuinely surprised at what she said.

' _Rie actually respects someone?'_

Simultaneously,The three of them looked up at the sky as if searching for a sign that the world is ending.Rie looked in confusion at them.

"Ah.Rie, you mentioned before that the Survey Corps found you outside or rather inside titan-infested lands and forced you to join?"Mikasa asks her.

"She said something like that?"Eren was clueless since he was unconscious at that time.

"Ah.Yeah.I was fine outside really but then they came and I can't escape.They don't really plan on letting me go since Erwin says that I'm a valuable soldier that was able to survive in titan-infested lands for three years.I was planning on escaping and head back outside where I don't have to face the annoying people inside these Walls but I got interested at them..."

"Interested?"Mikasa questions further.

"You'll be surprised at how they work"Rie smiled at her.

"Oh right.Rie, Do you use a Gun to kill titans?We heard a rumor about someone who does"Eren asks her next.

"Right.It's me."

"Seriously?..How?"The three of look at her in disbelief but also in curiosity.

"...I'm not sure.Though it's mostly luck if I ever managed to kill one.I aim at their nape and shoot...I sorta' just hopes it'll kill it."She explained sort of like in a monotone voice.

"I see...That's hardly believable but It's not like you'll lie about that"

".Hm...yeah"She trailed off ,looking at something at a distance...The three stared at her for a good moment before Rie noticed the long silence.

"What?" She said in an annoyed manner.Their staring is just bothering her.If they want to say something then they should just say it.

"Rie...you talk much now,huh.I mean,before...you would just keep silent.Never talking about yourself much and never was the talkative one.Really,Did something happen?"Eren was the first to say something.The two agreeing beside him.

"...Nothing much.Hanji just told me that friends tell each other stuff like problems and the like.Petra then tells me friends trust each other which made me think of you guys."Rie still has her blank look but the trio can tell that she was pouting.They smiled and chuckled inwardly at their older friend's personality.All this time they thought Rie doesn't trust them but she is just very anti-social which led her to be naive at the subject of friends.

"So you trust us?"

"The answer is obvious,isn't it?"They smiled at each other.

"By the way...Eren..I heard when you transformed for the second time in Trost...You attacked Mikasa"The trio flinched.Rie's eyes darkened and glared at Eren who is looking down as if Rie is a giant that is looking down at him.

"That! That wasn't on purpose!" Mikasa defended him,covering the scar from the aforementioned accident.

"I know"The three relaxed but Rie's eyes darkened again and an eerie smile that shows danger is evident in her face.

"That still doesn't changed the fact that you marked an ugly scar on Mikasa's pretty face"She said but to Eren,her words are like venom.Her smile hiding a dangerous intent.

"Ya are gonna get it.Real.Bad.Ya better run or are ya gonna fight back again,huh?"Rie cracks her knuckles emphasizing on what she meant.Eren is torn apart on running,knowing his opponent is Rie, or fighting back since pride won't allow it.

But of course, He wouldn't be the so called suicidal bastard if he runs away like this without putting up a fight and so he prepares to fight.

"Oh? So ya gladly accept your punishment"Rie grinned.Mikasa is at a daze because of a compliment of her face while Armin desperately tries to wake her up to stop the obviously one-sided fight..

•••

"That was good exercise"Rie stretches as she walked to the direction of her room.After her "little" fight with Eren which ended with Mikasa stopping them before Eren takes any more damage to his face, they returned to their own rooms since it was late in the evening.

Rie passes a dimly lit room just before the corridor that goes to her room.She notices a small shadow moving and her eyes darted at the area,Her eyes alert and body positioned in a defensive stance in case it was an unknown attacker but she relaxed once seeing the familiar military uniform and the neck-length auburn hair which she knows who it belongs to.

"Petra.What are you doing up so late?" Rie ignored the apparent flinch of Petra's body when she suddenly heard a voice.Recognizing the voice, she turned around and smiled(?)at Rie but to her it looks forced.

"O-Oh.Just... seeing if things...are prepared for..tomorrow! For the New recruits training!"Rie almost pitied her for how obvious she's being and for her half-assed excuse.With her constant hand movements and the pause in her sentence,anyone can tell that she's lying.

Rie looked at her dead in the eyes as if saying to her with no words needed,

' _Really?'_

Petra stared at her before sighing in defeat.She knows she can't win against her.It's like the girl sees through her.

"I...can't sleep"Petra went out of the dimly lit room and went outside where the stars' light brightens up the surroundings.Rie followed after staring at the stars before returning her attention to the woman beside her

"Why?"

"I'm not sure why.That's why I'm here doing anything just to make me tired and fall asleep."She sheepishly smiled.

"Hm.Maybe you have something on your mind?"Rie asked while keeping her stare at the stars.

"Hmm...I'm not thinking of anything that's bothering my mind right now though."Petra says looking up in wonder.She admit she was thinking if new recruits would actually show up but since they did,that one is out of her now.She really can't understand why she can't sleep.Though right now,she is in more confusion that the girl beside her is actually...concerned?

"Rie,are you concerned?.. for me?"Petra looked at her curiously.Rie whipped her head to her direction and saw the look on her face.She was about to deny it but thinking back on her actions just now,It was obvious but it felt like it's hurting her pride or something to admit.

"...ye..that's...After all,you're my friend"She muttered softly.The first few words were unrecognizable but the words followed left her staring at her with her mouth agape.

"What the hell's up with THAT look?" She frowned at the dumbfounded face of Petra.Realizing that her mouth was open,Petra shook off the shock that she felt.

"Ah.Yes. I mean,I'm your friend but you still treat me like before.Like we're not much different from acquaintances"Petra also muttered remembering that Rie's way of speaking was still the same.Rude and blatantly honest.Seriously,someone's gotta teach her to socialize properly.

"Well,That's because I wouldn't pretend to a friend.I remember Angelica telling me that It's better to be honest to a friend than pretending to be a friend" Petra almost forgot the name but the Captain mentions that Angelica was Rie's sister who...passed away.

Although, Petra would actually want to know what kind of person this Angelica person is if she were only alive.It seems she was the only person Rie is attached upon.It also looks like she's also the one teaching Rie...Maybe she was the one who taught her (or rather misinformed her purposely)on sexual knowledge a normal person should be aware of.

"..Glad to know you see me as a friend..but It feels like it's only me.."She worriedly asked Rie who only stared at her.Rie realizes it was about the other members.

"..Sure, I don't treat them as potential friends.."Petra showed a sad expression.

"...if it were before. I can't say I didn't enjoy those two years with you guys..Though it was quite...annoying to deal with such personalities, I may find it..not so bad...point is...I treat all of you as friends..Even if that Captain can't be called as one, He is at least tolerable." Petra chuckled uncomfortably.Really, after 2 years she still can't get along with their captain. She reminisced the first time Rie was assigned to her squad.

She was very anti-social.Though they notice the slight changes in her,she still kept a safe "distance" on establishing a social relationship with others.Keeping silent most of the time and only speaking if needed to be.

Petra remembered her words where she said that she doesn't care if others die,including her squad, be it whether by their actions or hers as long as she survive.That was the time the Captain got angry at her for putting them in danger and she still wouldn't trust them after Petra even saved her life and called her a friend.For some time,she suddenly went to them and said that she still doesn't have any concern for their deaths if it were to come but she will try to trust them.

At that time,Petra was honestly surprised when Rie confirmed her friendship with her as if it's a first.She was quite worried since she would be dealing with such a strange personality.Not that she dealt with various other strange personalities while in the Corps,but hers was on a whole other level of strangeness.Though she was glad that she trust them now but she hopes that she would quit the pranks and ditching her work most of the time.

"So you trust us?"Petra asks her as she stargazes together with Rie.Rie remembered the exact same question that the trio earlier asked.What is up with this question always being asked when the answer is obvious...Maybe..because I don't show it to them?

"What's up with that? Isn't it damn obvious already? You're the one who told me friends trust each other."

Petra giggled.The surroundings got a bit darker as clouds covered the light of the moon.A moment of silence passed.

Rie felt something leaned to her.She looked at Petra as she sleeps her head on Rie's shoulder.She let Petra sleep in peace as Rie watches the night sky some more.After a few minutes,Rie carried Petra to her room and went to her own to also finally sleep.

•••

 **Petra x Rie ftw :**

 **nahh.Im joking...probably :**

 **anyways "The 57th" is nearing soon.Actually it's next chapter.Where they will encounter the you-know-what.**

 **It was originally supposed to be in THIS chapter but my mind was like**

 **"Ey! the four childhood friends are together! Don't they get any catching up to do?"**

 **and so I put it**

 **and in order to understand Rie and for the next chapter, I throwed in some RiPetra(ehehe) cuz you already know whose deaths are in the next chapter.**

 **It's for them to show their bond.I mean there were no Petra and Rie moments that much that really shows their friendship.**

 **So see you in next chapter! :333**


	14. Chapter 11: Looking for you

**Disclaimer: I only own Rie,Angelica and...other OCs of mine.**

•••

In the outermost wall of Wall Rose, The Survey Corps. soldiers all lined up in front of the gate.Preparing for the expedition,townspeople surrounded them.Some cheered for them and some whispered behind their backs.

Rie and Eren are together situated at the Special Ops Squad at the center.Eren looked to his side,noticing the kids that gazed upon them in awe.He smiled remembering the time he did the same up until they were still trainees...Now that he think about it...

"Rie, you were here since two years ago,right?"Eren looked behind him.

"Ya.What about it?"

"How come I haven't seen you all this time? I always went to watch the Survey Corps leave the walls and you are in the Special Ops Squad yet I haven't seen you anywhere near them?"He could understand if he missed her once or twice but for two whole years?

Rie stared at him for a long time that he was almost getting uncomfortable.Then he saw a nostalgic look in her eyes.Although her expression is blank,the look in her eyes changed to one Eren is most familiar with.

"How come you haven't...I wonder?..."Rie smiled.A smile that is unsettling.Her eyes narrows down on Eren as she lifts her head to look down on him.Eren felt a shiver on his spine.He gulped.His eyes wide open and alert.He kept staring at Rie,unable to look away.

"The answer is simple. I.am.a.criminal at large.I need to hide from public eyes,ya know?"

What?Rie is a criminal at large? So she committed a lot of crimes? Eren stared in disbelief but the more he looks at her face,the more she looks like she is telling the truth.He cannot believe Rie was being chased by the Military Police.The only crime he knew they've done was when they killed those monsters who kidnapped Mikasa but even the MP turned a blind eye to it saying it as self-defense and we are still underage to be jailed.Rie would not commit crimes just because she wants to,would she? Rie is mischievous and likes to play jokes on people but also can be cold,anti-social and has a rude mouth but using violence?...

"That..."

"...Is a joke,right?"He said it with confidence as if it's a fact.The nervous look he has on his face is gone and was replaced with a tired look on his face.

Rie ,once again, stared at him then she chuckled.She smiled mischievously at him which made him sigh in return.That was the nostalgic feeling he was getting from her eyes.He forgot that Rie used to prank them like this.

"You knew that was a joke,Eren? I couldn't even tell" Petra was also of a tired look.The other members could hear their conversation and was genuinely surprised to hear those words from Rie.They were unsettling and when they heard it was just a joke,they were pretty annoyed from falling for it.

"There was no way she's committed crimes aside from the one you heard from the court.I've been with her all the time when we were kids.If she was being chased by the police, We would have noticed it and she wouldn't be roaming around outside so carefree.Also, Rie likes to use jokes like this on people. I forgot she knew how to make such expressions that it's almost believable. Her acting can really deceive people" Eren explains to them,his head hung low.

"...You know everything about her,huh? Childhood friends are amazing"Petra said softly as if wanting to drift away from the conversation.

"Though, I wonder why you haven't seen me...Once or twice would be understandable but if you were watching the Corps leave every expedition, for two whole years..." Eren looked away.She had just said what he was thinking of earlier.

"...That is quite interesting...Maybe you were too occupied in watching in awe at 'Humanity's Strongest' every expedition" She smirked at him,even after her not-so-funny joke, she moved on to teasing.

" What?! Shut up! That's not it! Also,Mikasa and Armin were always there with me and they didn't also notice you!"Eren retaliated

"Mikasa didn't see me because her view might've been blocked by the other soldiers around me, We were always in the center anyway."Eren gritted his teeth in exasperation.So if it's Mikasa,She already has an excuse for her.

"Then that's the same for us then!"Eren shouted at her,loudly enough for a few citizens and soldiers alike to stare at him.Rie didn't mind the eyes that was staring at them and stuck out her tongue at Eren.

"You two.Be quiet"Eren straightened his back and faced forward upon hearing Levi's commanding voice.Rie,upset because of her fun being stopped, huffed in annoyance.Levi always interrupts whenever she has her fun, She thinks he's doing it on purpose.

"At last! Mankind is about to make another step forward!" Erwin's shout pumped up the soldiers.The gate was slowly rising.

"57th expedition to the lands outside the Wall! ADVANCE" With that order, horses filled out of the Wall and into the lands outside it.They were all in one straight line as they rode past the town.

A 10 meter titan is spotted near the formation.The defense squad sprung into action and defended the formation.As Eren finally went outside the Walls, one thought was on his mind.

"Uhm Oluo-san, Do you think my classmates can win against titans?"Eren asked the man next to him.The man replied in a usual rough manner.

"Huh?! What the hell have you been doing the past month,huh? Listen, You shitty brat, what every expedition rides on is how well we avoid Titans altogethe-"Blood seeped out from his mouth.He bit his tongue again.Oluo covered his mouth in attempt to stop the blood.

"Ahh.What a sight" Eren heard Rie's monotone voice and he don't need to look behind him to know that she is smirking.Oluo glared behind him knowing it's aimed at Rie but she could not care less.The more he tries to look threatening,the more it looks less like it.

"Formation for long distance enemy detection! Deploy!" Hearing from the Commander himself,each group of horses went into their own positions in the formation.The formation looked more or less like an arrow.This allows them to widen the enemy detection range as much as possible.

The expedition continued on.

It wasn't long when a red smoke signal was fired.Erwin fires a green smoke signal indicating the new direction of the formation.It was like that for a few minutes.

Red.Green.Red.Green.Red.Green.

"Somehow we're encountering titans more often and it isn't even 10 minutes into the expedition yet"Rie mutters to herself.It was strange they keep encountering titans one after another.If it were the usual,it would take usually 3-5 minutes before encountering another titan but this time it wasn't even a full minute when they encountered another titan and switched direction.

 _'Is the enemy already here?'_

Her thoughts were broken when another soldier approached them.

"I've got a message! The right flank suffered a crushing blow! Enemy detection in the right flank is partually disabled! Please relay the message to the squads stationed to your left!"With that said,he returned to his own position.

"Heard that,Petra? Go" Levi commanded

"Yes,Sir!" Petra went to the squads stationed to the left.

' _Right flank.Armin is stationed there...'_

The sound of a smoke signal being fired was heard quite close to them.It was a little further behind them.Eren whipped his head around and saw the black smoke signal being fired.

"A black signal?! A deviant?!"

"Eren, fire the signal"

"Yes sir!"

Eren fires the signal and looks behind him.His face was of nervous and worry.Rie could tell he was thinking more or less about the soldiers fighting that deviant.

"What a mess.They've let it advance this far into the formation"Levi comments.

 _'Damn right.It's just a little bit behind us...but it's all going to Erwin's plan anyways.They'll set it up there,huh?'_

Rie looks infront of her to see a forest.From afar,It looks like any other forest but once you get closer,The trees are much larger than normal ones.

The forest of giant trees.

Only the central file entered the forest.The left and right file is to go around it.Enemy detection is impossible now.

"Corporal! Corporal Levi!"Rie hears Eren's distress.She knew he would panic sooner or later but it was early in her opinion.Of course, It would be strange for him since he doesn't know what Erwin's up to.

"What?"

"What,you say...We're in the forest!There is no way we can detect the enemy anymore! And I think there is something approaching from the right..How are we supposed to avoid titans and protect the carts?!"

"Stop stating the obvious.It's clear as day we can't do that anymore"Despite Eren's hysterical shouts, Levi calmly (more or less) answers him.

"Then!-"

"Take a good look around,Eren.At these big ass trees.It's the best location for 3DMG.Now,do me a favor and put that dumb head of yours to use"

Rie and the other members silently watched the two exchanged words.Eren quiets down and hung his head low.He looked at the direction of Oluo.Seeing that he is confused, Eren looked behind him to see the other members have the same confused look in their faces except Rie.Rie notices him looking at her and stared at him with a knowing look.Calm down.It's as if she is saying this.

Then they heard a sound of a Titan's footsteps.A titan that is running.They heard a loud sound that felt like someone is hitting the tree.

"W-what is that sound?!"Eren panics

"Something is making that sound?"Eld questions looking behing him.

"Everyone,blades at ready..that 'something' will be here"Levi commands unsheathing his blades.Everyone does the same,waiting in alert.

Few seconds pass.The sound grows louder until it's unbearably loud...

Then she appeared.

A titan with a structure of a female.Once seeing the group before her,she accelerates her speed.Eren and the other members stared in shock.

' _So it's got a body of a female,huh? Hope the one inside it is not a man 'cause that will be a real shocker'_

Rie smirked at the thought.She observed the female titan.She's fast.As Erwin thought, they really did come out when he announced about Eren's basement and how they are going to it.Most likely,the person inside it is the one who killed Hanji's titans.

"Shit!There's no way we can avoid it in this forest!"Gunther shouts.Rie noticed most of the members are in panic.

"It's fast!It's catching up to us"Eld shouts next.

"Corporal! Let's switch to 3D gear!"Petra shouts to Levi but he only glanced behind him.

Then gears were heard.Soldiers catched up to this female titan.

"The squad behind us is backing us up!"Petra shouted.Two reinforcements.Rie observed closely.Will she ignore them or..will she kill them?

The two soldiers lunged at the female titan to attack.The other one circled around her but before he could,the female titan moved it's whole body to crush the soldier against the tree.The other soldier was grabbed with force,it crushed his whole body and ran it across the trees as she ran.

 _'As I thought...Better to get rid of annoying flies than to put up with it,huh?'_

The other members aside from Rie and Levi stared in shock.'Did that titan really just did that?' is what they are thinking.

"C-corporal! Let's switch to 3D gear! She's dangerous!"Oluo shouted

"Give us the order!"Gunther shouted next

"Damn titan...I'm going to turn it into mincemeat.."Eld muttered,tightening his grip on his blade.Eren looked at him as if he was mocking him for that.

"That's stupid.You really think you could handle that thing? It's got a brain for once..That thing knows how to kill us but we don't know how to kill it."Rie commented and the 5 members stared at her.

"It's nape,obviously!"Oluo shouted at her with a tone of mockery

"Of course..Though did you really think it's easy as that? Earlier,when those two soldiers arrived, that titan covered it's nape"

"Then we just have to cut her arms then!"

"...I wonder if it's simple as that.."Rie softly said that it almost went unheard.

"That's why we should just kill her now!Corporal!"Eld shouts for Levi but he kept silent.

"Corporal!Give us the order,please!!"

"Everyone,cover your ears"Levi ordered and everyone did as told.He shot off a sound grenade.

"Men,tell me what your mission is.Was it to lose to your emotions? No,our job is to make sure this pisspoor brat doesn't get a single scratch on him.We're gonna keep advancing on horses" Levi told them and it was enough for the members except for Eren.

"Yes sir!"Petra said.Eren looked at them as if they were crazy.

"Well,why don't I try something?"Rie says as she loaded her gun strapped on her back.

"Rie,stop it! Just go at your fastest speed with your horse!"Gunther tried stopping her but she continued anyways.She rotated her body to face the female titan and aimed at her.The female titan's eyes landed on her.

"Rie! You'll fall from your horse!"Petra tells her but she is still aiming

"I'm fine.I'll try slowing it down"Rie tells her

 _'Now,If you're just like Eren...There's a human inside there in the nape.This bullet goes through most titans' nape and carves a hole...if I aim for the location of the head of the human inside...It'll die.. but Erwin needs it alive,huh..guess I'll shoot a warning shot to slow it down'_

Rie aimed carefully and waited for the perfect time to pull the trigger.She is shaking and can't aim properly because she's on a horse but she tries to still her aim at the center of the nape.

"Wait,we're going to continue..on horses? Just how long are we going to keep going like this?...Not to mention that she'll catch up to us very soon!"Eren glances a look at the female titan.It's eyes still fixated on Rie.

A gunshot was heard.Rie pulled the trigger.It went by in a flash but Rie saw the brief moment the female titan used it's hand to block the path of the bullet.Her hand turned to an icy blue when the bullet hit it.Rie saw her bullet got deflected onto another direction.The blue color dissappeared shortly after.

"What..."She lowered her gun.Her expression mixed with confusion and curiosity.That's when she noticed another pair of soldiers trying to stop the female titan.She noticed her other hand moved to protect her nape and her free hand to 'swat away the flies'.If she grabs a soldier,She'll be unable to defend her neck from Rie's bullet.

With that in mind,Rie loaded another bullet and aimed.The female titan's attention is on the soldiers.She grabbed on to her horse because she almost lost her balance.Regaining it,she aimed once again at her nape.

"Eren!! Look forward!"

"Gunther-san?!"

"Stop screwing up the pace! Maintain your fastest running speed!"

"Eld-san!..but why?! Who's going to stop her if not Levi's squad?!"

The female titan started to move her free hand to the direction of the other soldier.Rie saw this chance to pull the trigger and she wasted no moment to do it.Upon hearing the gunshot,The female titan widened her eyes.She grabbed the soldier and used it to block the path of the bullet.The bullet went through the soldier's chest,killing him on the spot with Rie's bullet.

Though it did help slowed down the female titan as her pace was visibly slower than before.

"A soldier just lost his life! We could've saved him!"Eren shouted.

' _Seems like Eren didn't notice that it was my bullet that killed the guy though that's good or he'll make a fuss..I mean,he's making such a fuss right now'_

"Eren! Look only infront of you and keep moving"

"Are you telling me to just close my eyes to the battle behind us?! To leave my comrades to their death and run for my life,is that it?!"

"..Yes! That's precisely what I'm telling you to do! Obey the Corporal's order!"

Rie put back her gun and rotated her body to her original position,riding the horse properly.All she needs to do anyways is to slow it down and she successfully did it.It won't be long before that hellish speed of hers come back but while she's busy,they can have a bit of distance from the female titan.

"Eren! What are you doing?!" Rie switched her attention to Eren upon hearing Petra's panicked voice.Eren was ready to bite through his thumb,triggering his transformation.

"You're only allowed to do that only when your life is in danger! You promised us, didn't you?!"

Eren stared for a moment but resolved once again to bite through.

"Eren..you're not in the wrong about this.If you want to do it, do it" Levi spoke to him and with that Eren was once again about to bite through,his teeth already resting on his skin.

"Corporal?!"

"He's a real monster, I know that much and not because of his titan power.No matter what cage you put him in, no one is able to make his spirit submit to their will."

' _You can say that he's stubborn'_ Rie thought in her mind.

"Eren, the difference between us originates from past experience but you don't have to trust on a thing like that.Make your choice.Will you trust yourself? or trust me,them and the whole Survey Corps. as a whole?...

I can never give you advice on which option to choose.No matter what wisdom dictates which option you should pick,no one would be able to tell if it's roght or wrong until you arrive at the outcome.The only thing we could do is to make a decision we least regret" Levi finishes

Eren was silent.He looks back at the female titan.Determined to fight it, Eren puts his hand on his mouth.

"Eren..Trust us"

•••

* **Oluo-san: I did not plan to actually use japanese terms like -san, -chan, etc but Eren simply calling him by 'Oluo' doesn't really suit when he is respecting him.I didn't like the 'Mr.Oluo' call too.**

 **I noticed I keep switching on Levi's title on Corporal/Captain. I did say I'm only calling him Corporal because that is what 'heichou' means but I accidentally called him Captain in previous chapters...It's because I was getting reference on his character in other fanfictions and how they portrayed his character =3= and along the line I got influenced by them that calls him Captain.**

 **WooOo,cliffhanger~**

 **Though,you already know what will happen -w-**

 **RR**


	15. Chapter 12:Where have you been?

**Disclaimer: I only own Rie , Angelica and other OCs**

•••

 _"We've thought of a way to beat you and get you out of that titan of yours without killing you"_

 _Levi says as he scribbles what looks like a human and made dotted lines around it,going through the limbs of it, on the board.They are inside a classrom.Eren listens infront of him while the rest of the members are behind him,either standing or sitting on a chair.Hanji is sitting on the teacher's desk and Rie is laying on top of it,her legs hanging on the edge._

 _"With this method, you can get away with just serious injuries.It will be tricky,though, as it needs extremely refined skills to execute.In short, we need to cut up a big piece of meat with your human body inside it of your titan form's nape...We'll end up chopping of your arms and feet in the process,though" He finished scribbling on the board and his explanation._

 _"No big deal though.You'll just end up growing them back,like a damned lizard.Disgusting"He glared a disgusted look at Eren_.

 _"Gross.Though I would like to see how that looks like" Rie comments._

 _"Wait just a minute! We aren't sure they'll grow back! Isn't there some other way?"Eren says_

 _"Are you saying you want a way with no risks involved and no sacrifices necessary,is that it?"_

 _"N-no"_

 _"Then you better prepare yourself for that one.There's a danger you might be killed in the process but we're in the same boat,since we'll be risking to get killed by you"Eren was silent.He looked at the faces of the members behind him feeling their tension of being allied to a titan._

 _"...yes sir.understood"_

 _"So you allow me to run an experiment on him?"Hanji spoke up._

 _"It's too risky...is what I wanna say but we need to confirm firsthand on what we're dealing with"_

 _"I will formulate the plan of the experiment,then...Eren,if there is something you don't know,try to learn it.There's plenty of what we can learn worth risking our lives for"_

•••

 _Later on ,they conducted the experiment on Eren.Eren was to transform while at the bottom of the well.It was to hold him down in case he lost control._

 _"When I'm ready, I'll fire a smoke signal to begin.What to do next is up to you!"Hanji shouts to Eren who is at the bottom of the well._

 _"Understood!"_

 _Hanji,Levi and Rie rode on their own horses and went far from the well._

" _This dried up well should be enough to hold to restrain him in case he loses control"Hanji mutters to herself and Rie looked at her strangely as if she's a mad woman..oh wait..She IS._

 _Hanji fires the signal.They waited for a familiar titan to rise up but...nothing happened.It has been a few minutes and nothing happened._

 _"Maybe he didn't see the signal?"Hanji wonders._

 _"He saw it.We can't be certain if something happened there or not"Levi approached the well and the three of them peeked inside the well_

 _"Eren! The experiment is suspended for the time being!"Surprise filled their faces when they saw Eren's state.His hand full of bite marks and his mouth filled with his own blood._

 _"Major Hanji.I..can't seem to turn into a titan..."_

•••

 _"So your wounds aren't healing either?"_

 _The group is sitting on a table.Eren,after being bandaged, held his wounds._

 _"N-no"_

 _"If you can't transform into a titan then the ambition to plug up the hole in Wall Maria will go down the fucking drain...I'm ordering you...Do something about it."Levi says and left them.Petra followed after him._

 _That leaves the guys and Rie sitting on the table._

 _"Don't let it get you down,Eren"Eld tells him._

 _"But.."_

 _"Well,That just means you're more human than we thought" Oluo tells him next_

 _"Hm.Even though it spells big trouble if he isn't able to do it?You guys are getting lazier at doing your own jobs..."Rie says drinking her own cup of tea._

 _"...We don't want to hear us being lazy especially from you and it's not like that,It's much better this way than losing your life in the rush is what we meant."Gunther replies to Rie._

 _"Ouch!"Eren drops the spoon he is holding.They turned their attention to him._

 _"You okay?"_

 _"Yes.I'm fine"He reassured him and reached for the spoon on the ground.Feeling the pain of his wounds,he grunts as he bended his body to reach the spoon._

 _Then a thunder clap.A strong gust of hot wind blew from where Eren is blowing away the other soldiers.Rie,stabbing the ground with her hidden knife,resists the gusts of hot wind._

 _"Eren!"Rie shouted for him.She opened her eyes when the strong wind stopped.She saw Eren his hand sticking to what seems like a Titan's right shoulder and arm.Smoke is all around him._

 _"Damn it.Why now?!"Eren says as he tries to pull his arm from the huge arm.Rie approaches him,sensing the heat from the titan, she stood a good distance away from it,avoiding skin contact._

 _"Did you just transform? or..your arm did?"Rie tells him,putting in a light joke._

 _"Damn it!"He screams,trying hard to pull his arm._

 _"Calm down"Levi's voice was heard_

 _"Co-Corporal! This is-"Eren stopped short when he finally looked at their direction.Rie looked also and rests her palms on the blades getting ready to unsheath them.She sensed bloodlust but most likely out of fear._

 _"Calm down.All of you"Levi stood between the four members and Eren's titan.They have their blades drawn,ready to attack.They glared at Eren in alert._

 _"Eren! What's the meaning of this?!" Eld first spoke.He shouted at him with anger in his tone._

 _"I-Uh!"_

 _"Why did you do it now?!...without authorization?!"He continued shouting._

 _"Hold it,Eld"_

 _"Answer the question,Eren! What did you try to achieve by doing this!"_

 _"No,that can wait...First,prove to me that you aren't hostile against us..against the human race!Prove it!This instance!"Gunther shouts next.Rie's hand twitched and her eyes darken.She's releasing a dangerous aura that surprisingly, no one has noticed yet._

 _"I swear if your fucking hand even twitch even a little,you can kiss goodbye to your fuckin' head!I am more than capable of doing so!"Oluo screams out._

 _"Then try to do it.Now."_

 _Rie unsheathes her blades and positioned it in a way one holds a knife.A grip that tells it's to kill humans.The members looks at her.She's glaring at them.A glare that screams bloodlust.It's not her usual glare.It's like...someone else is glaring at them._

 _"Rie,stand down"Levi commands but she did not move an inch.Her glare still fixated on the members._

 _"Rie!Corporal! Get away from Eren!"Petra shouts_

 _"No.It's you guys who need to get away from him."Levi says to Petra_

 _"But why?!"_

 _"Intuition"_

 _"You fuckin' humans really pick on those who are different from you.What you don't understand,you fear.What you fear,you try to eliminate_..."Rie venomously says.Everyone silently listens to her.She is sort of speaking strangely.The way she is speaking is not like her.Like earlier,it was like someone else entirely.

" _Saying someone is a monster..Just because they're different from you fuckers,When they haven't done anything wrong yet! That's why she-!"_

 _"EREEEEEN!! CAN I TOUCH THAT ARM OF YOURS??!!"_

 _Hanji runs towards Eren pushing the other members away,Moblit following after her._

 _"Can I??!! You'll let me,right??!! Just a touch is fine!" She says,her face with a crazy smile so wide._

 _"Major Hanji?! Wait a seco-"Eren replies but Hanji ignores anyway._

 _"Haaahh"She gushed over the arm as she slowly touched it.In a few nanoseconds,her palms starts smoking.She retracts her hands and slid across the grass._

 _"IT'S HOOOOOT!!"_

 _"Major!You're too reckless!!"Moblit shouts at her._

 _"Say,Eren! Isn't it hot?! What's happening to your right hand where it's connected to your titan flesh?! I want to know!!"_

 _Eren looks at his fist that is still connected to his titan and pulls hard._

 _"Oi! What are you doing?! I warned you not to try any weird shit on us!" Oluo shouts at him_

 _"Calm down.Can't you see what he's trying to do?"Rie says,her blades sheathed.Her back turned on them as if she's aware that she's not acting like herself earlier.The strange aura she's emitting earlier is gone now._

 _"Nngghh!" Eren finally was released from his titan flesh and rolled down._

 _"Ehh??!! Whyy,Eren!! There's still tons of stuff I want to resear-"Hanji stops her sentence and stared at something in particular._

 _Rie and Levi approached Eren,who is breathing rather harshly.Rie kneeled infront of him and checked his face.Eren noticing Rie and glanced at her._

 _"Rie..."_

 _"How are you doing?"Levi asks him.Eren looked at the members whose blades were pointed against him earlier._

 _"...Not very good"_

•••

 _After Eren and Levi talked,they were called to the meeting room by Hanji.After a while,they both arrived.Eren entered receiving looks from the members._

 _"You took a while,shitty glasses.You took a long dump or something?"Levi says to Hanji after entering._

 _"Well that but also I was busy explaining to the superiors on what happened..Anyway,Eren take a look at this" Hanji pulled out something from her jacket that is wrapped by a handkerchief.She put the object on the table and carefully unwrapped the handkerchief._

 _"A teaspoon?"Eren looked at the object in wonder._

 _"Indeed.That right titan hand of yours held it in it's grasp.Between the index finger and the thumb,Like this" Hanji showed him how his titan hand held it._

 _"Really?"_

 _"It's hard to believe a grasp like this could be a coincidence.Add to the fact that for some reason,there's no damage to the teasponn from heat or excessive force on the spoon...do you have any thoughts as to why?"Hanji explains to him_

 _"Ah! I remember trying to pick it up after it fell to the ground..I transformed right after that"_

 _"...I see"Hanji seemed like she realized something_

 _"Maybe that's why you couldn't transform earlier in the well...'I must kill the titans'...'I must defend from that cannonball'...'I must lift that boulder'...In every transformation,you had a clear objective in your mind.It's most likely,self-harm isn't the trigger"_

 _"I agree..The situation makes sense in this case but..transforming to a titan just to pick up a spoon?...that's messed up"Eren says as he stared at his hand._

 _"...So you didn't break the rules about transforming on purpose?" Gunther asks him._

 _"No, it wasn't intentional"Eren answered him.Gunther sighed.He looked at the other members and nodded._

 _They brought their hands to their mouth and bit at it._

 _"Eh?What?"Hanji looked at them,confused at their actions.Rie,who was pretend-sleeping the whole time,lift her head up to observe them._

 _"W-what are you all doing?!" Eren shouted at them_

 _"Ouch..Eren,you bit through this every time despite the pain,didn't you?"Eld comments, a bite mark is visible on his hand but it did not drew blood._

 _"We've made a mistake.There's a price for that,however small"Gunther answers Eren,his hand having a bite mark._

 _"But it's our job to keep you in check! We weren't wrong in doin' our job! Don't get cocky,brat!" Oluo shouts at him,his hand having a bite mark also._

 _"We're sorry,Eren...We got scared and did something stupid...you must be dissappointed but still one person can't do much on their own."Petra tells him after she bit on her hand as well.She looked at him with a serious look._

 _"That is why we take action as an organization.We rely on you and we'd like you to rely on us.That's why we'd like you to..."_

"Trust us"

Eren remembers her words from last time.He glanced a look at his hand and at the female titan behind him.He looked conflicted as he stared at the lone soldier fighting the damn she-beast.

"Eren! You're taking way too long! Make up your damn mind already!"Levi shouted at him.Eren grits his teeth and faced forward

"I'll move forward!!"He shouts..

"Uahh! No! Let me go!!!" The soldier's cries is heard.Eren closed his eyes and mouthed apologies.

Then the ground suddenly shook like an earthquake was happening.The group looked behind them to see the female titan picked up it's pace and is going even faster than before.

"It's accelerating!"

"Full speed ahead!!"Levi ordered.Rie tries to draw her gun to slow it down but Petra stopped her

"Rie! Don't! You'll get crushed if you slow down even jist a little bit!" Rie stared at her and released her gun from her hold.

"Corporal!"

"Keep going!"

' _How long till we get there? The damn female titan is closing in..Whoah! It got it's hand reaching over to Eren!and-'_

"FIRE!!!"

A shout rang across the whole area and in a split second,it was filled by arrows being fired at the female titan.They were using Hanji's machine to capture titans and loads of them are being used on this titan.

The group stared in awe at what just happened.Rie saw the titan covered her nape with both hands just before she was fired by the arrows.The group continued on deeper in the forest.

"Tether the horses up ahead and switch to 3D gear.I'm taking action separately from you.I'm putting Eld in charge.Keep a safe distance from that titan and hide Eren.Is that clear?"With that said,Levi flew out of the area and into where the titan is caught.

"Huh? Could it be...the plan is to capture that titan alive?!"Eren says looking back at Levi who just left.He looks at Petra then to Eld and then to Oluo and Gunther.

"See that,Eren?! We've captured that titan alive!"Gunther shouts at him

"This is the power of the Survey Corps!! Don't ever underestimate it,you dumbass!!"Oluo shouts at him next.

"Y-yes!"

•••

The group stayed in a deeper part of the forest.Once they were sure they were far enough from the female titan,they camped there for a while until orders are given.

"So that titan is a human who can transform into a titan,just like me,right?"

"Duh"Rie replied to his question.She sat there reloading her gun and sharpening her knife.

"If the plan was to capture that titan,It's better if the plan is told to everyone,right? If only more people knew they were facing off an intelligent titan,they could've survived...Us the new recruits aside, but to think that even you seniors that's been with the Survey Corps for a long time is out of the loop.."Eren tells the group who was visibly getting pissed of at him.

"Are you saying that the commander and the corporal doesn't trust us, is that it?!" Petra screams at him.

"N-No but...t-that's what it looks like,you know?!"Eren answers back

"Petra! Knock him a tooth or two,will ya?" Oluo shouts as he is ,out of all of them, getting pissed the most at Eren's words.

"Still,you can't set a trap like that without few other people in the know about it...so the people who knew must be..those who are in the Survey Corps before 5 years ago..."Eld mentions.Rie stopped sharpening her knife for a moment and glanced a look.

"If that's the case,then there's no helping it.They assumed a spy inflitrated the walls using the breach from 5 years ago,that was the condition the commander used to screen suspects"says Petra

"A spy...Could that be the same person who killed Sawney and Bean?" Eld mentions Hanji's two titan who were mysteriously killed before dawn but no culprit was found.

"Ah..that question..Commander asked me that too"

"He asked me that too" Eren looked at Rie.She's unbelievably calm at a time like this.Well,She is always like that but knowing Rie,She doesn't like being used or being involved in something she has no idea about.

"Rie..Did the commander asked you too?"Eren faces Rie and asks her.Rie stares at him for a while.

"...No. I hear him asking it to you"She simply says and went back to sharpening her knife.

"Eh? He didn't asked you the whole day? even though you joined after the fall.."Eld questions further

"After he asked Eren, I marched into Erwi-..the commander's office demanding answers.He asked me the same question and I answered"

"You...answered? That question?"

"So does that mean he told you about the plan?!"

"Correct. You would've been let on if you just asked the commander.Answering it is simple"

"Then does the commander have any clue to who is inside that female titan?!"Eren asks

"Who knows.That's why they captured it.You'll know sooner or later...With that said,I'll be sleeping"Rie monotonely says as she removes her 3D gear and gun and putting it beside her.

"Oi! Rie! Don't sleep while we're on an expedition!The Corporal ordered us to standby and kill any titans if encountered one while we wait for the signal!"Gunther reprimands the white-haired* girl.

"Come on, it'll be a while before they fire any signal unless there was something wrong but until then,they're going to take their time taking out the human"Rie says as she patted the grass below her.

"And.. **I trust you** guys to keep me safe. Of course, I wouldn't dare to put my guard down If I didn't **trust** you all" Rie smiles at them and went to lie down and sleep.She closes her eyes and dozed off.

"That girl...she's using those words against us"Eld sighed at Rie's antics.

"Tch! At least there's one less annoying brat to deal with!"Oluo comments and Eren worriedly looked at Rie.How can she sleep after almost dying back there?When we are facing an intelligent titan who will kill anyone including her if she ever get in it's way.

Is Rie that lazy? Unmotivated? Careless? Does she really understand the situation of being a Survey Corps member? You could die anytime with no warnings...No matter how skilled Rie may be ,she's also a human.Like the soldiers from earlier, They were veteran soldiers but they all end up dead by that titan's hands.She'll die if she take being a Survey Corps soldier lightly! Why did she even join?!

' _I was fine outside of the Walls when they showed up and forced me to join!_ '

Forced to join...I see.Before, she wanted to join the Survey Corps but after her sister's death...she doesn't want it anymore but there they were forcing her to join and she has no choice but to agree...

•••

 _"Rie,why did you want to join the Survey Corps?"_

 _Eren sat beside the river and Rie, who just came, sat as well.They were both throwing stones at the river._

 _"Hm? Why'ddya ask?"_

 _"You suddenly wanted to just because we mentioned about joining someday too"_

 _"...They're interesting"_

 _"Whaaat?! For your own self-interest?!"_

 _"Well, How about you?Why did you want to join them? Though, I'm pretty sure it's about them being heroes"_

 _"What's wrong with that?!They're the ones fighting for our freedom while the others are satisfied being trapped here!"_

 _"I knew it.Are you really joining them just because they're "amazing" and "heroes"? You're taking their job lightly."_

 _"Y-you too! just for your own self-interest..."_

 _"Well that's because each of them has their own individual dreams..Whether it's to protect their family or seeking freedom.None of them joined thinking it was righteous or they'll be treated as heroes"_

 _"Hm? What the heck? It's like you know them personally...Armin and I...we wanted to go outside...We told you before,right? We want to see what is outside of these Walls"_

 _"I see..As for me, I was curious of them.I observed them.They have personalities that are different from others. I...wanted to know more about them.They keep fighting..at the cost of their lives..Why? Losing a comrade often...they still continue...Fear taking over their minds yet they still fight...why?"_

 _"Rie?..."_

 _"T-the point is, I'm curious of their own actions...and also just like you...I'm searching for something outside"_

 _"...something?"_

 _"Nothing to get concerned for.I'm joining the Survey Corps.Help them fulfill their goal of taking back lands from the Titans and search outside and while I'm in their group, I might learn something about them and...from them"_

•••

Now that Eren remembers, He looked at Rie, who is sleeping peacefully ,with a thought on his mind.

' _Rie wanted to join the Survey Corps because she want to find something outside of these Walls...Did she found it?...Does she still even want to be here?'_

"...Why did you join? I know you said back then that you were searching for something and you were interested in them..but after your sis-...the fall of Wall Maria, you never wanted it anymore but they found you and forced you to join but do you even still choose to be here?"Eren mutters,not that he expects a certain someone to answer.

"...We promised..."Eren whips his head to face the girl sleeping,is what he thought she would be, and listened if the voice really did come from her.

"...Back then, We promised we'd join together...That is my reason when I accepted their offer...Sure, I have many reasons like those what you said earlier...but...our promise..is what really made me accept...When I thought you guys died, I accepted... In order to keep my end of the promise on behalf of you,Mikasa and Armin but...it's a good thing...you're alive...You are here..."

Eren stares at Rie for a good moment.He thought about her words.She's here...because of their promise back then?..Rie really does care for them...

"Rie-"

"Hey! It's the retreat signal!"Petra shouts.Indeed,up in the skies are green signals calling for a retreat or in other's perspective, a "mission success".

"We're going back to get our horses! Get ready to retreat!"Eld commanded

"You heard him.Let's go see what kind of face that shithead that's riding inside that titan is making.Wake the damn brat up!"Oluo says as he turns his head to Rie's sleeping place to find that it's vacant.

"Let's go"Rie says as she already finished strapping in her 3D gear and gun all without making noise.She follows after Gunther,who is leading, and Eld.Oluo,Eren and Petra followed behind her.

"Did they really capture the one inside it..?"Eren questions

"Yes,they did and it's all thanks to you!"Petra says with a happy tone

"M-me? But I hardly did anything.."

"You put your trust in us! That's plenty!"

"Stop pampering him, Petra! What'd he do to deserve the praise? The only he did good is panicking and squawking.He did nothing except being a bait!"Oluo cuts in

"As much as I hate agreeing with the old man, He's kinda right"Rie also cuts in the conversation

"Old man?!"

"Though you did good...being alive and all"Rie glanced a knowing look at Eren in which he understood what it meant.Her eyes softened and her lips curved to a small smile.

"Well that can be considered a good job but that isn't certain until the operation is wrapped up.Be sure to mark my words brat! Until you're safely back inside the Walls, the expedition isn't over!"

"Yes,yes.I get it" Eren says clearly tired of the old man.

"You two..You have become fine soldiers.I seem to recall you two weeped and pissed your pants on your first expedition"Eld looks back and commented.Rie and Eren were both surprised to hear that.

"GYYAAAAAAAHHH!!!!"Petra screams a horrific tone.Her expresseion a mixture of panic and embarresment.

"Don't tell them that!! What if they lose all respect on us??!!What are you going to do about that Eld??!!"

"I only told the truth and just for the record,you two, I didn't wet my pants" Eld replies back cooly.

"Eh? It's true,Petra?" Rie looked at Petra with a shocked face.

"Stupid!! I'm the one with most achievements and kill record!! Moron!!"Oluo shouts at Eld also

"A value of a soldier isn't measured by his kill record"Eld retorts backs

"Shut up damn idiot!!"

"Woah! Then it probably right in the midair too?!"Eren asks much to the dismay of the two other members.

"Aww.I wish I could've seen it but nevermind it might be disgusting" Rie states with the most innocent faces she ever had.It was a face of teasing trying hard to not be obvious.

"ELD!!"Petra screams

"You guys! Are you on a picnic or something??!! We're outside of the Walls,for crying out loud!!"Gunther stopped them and reprimanded them.

"By the way, Rie,Eren, I didn't piss myself either!"He added.

That's when another green signal is fired almost near them.

"That must be Corporal Levi! We're going to join up with him.Save your bickering until we come back!"Gunther fired off the same green signal and went to it's direction.

They continued to the direction of the fired green signal.After a while, Gunther notices another presence beside them.He stared,wondering if it's Levi but noticed quickly it isn't him.

"Huh?"Rie noticed Gunther looking at his left.She looked and there was another person.Levi,maybe...? No! That's not him!

"GUNTHER!!" Rie tries to accelerate towards Gunther but the unknown figure is fast and attacked Gunther with a quick motion.

"Gunther-san??!"

The group came face to face with a lifeless body of Gunther whose nape has been sliced.Rie stared and stared and stared...A thought enveloping her mind.

' _Ah..I forgot...They can die too..'_

•••

 ***White-haired: I'm sorryy! i keep switching between silver and white for Rie's hair color but this time it's really white!**

 **Welp,this was long =w=**

 **btw,I skipped some dialogue of the original story so that it won't take much of the chapter and you guys basically knows what happens in those parts**

 **So um..here it comes..their deaths '_'**

 **Uuuuuggggg, and here Rie thought they'd live for a long time...**

 **oh! that's right! I hope you learnt more of Rie personality in this! Simply put, She treasures her friends that she would kill** **for them o_o**

 **And yep, I put in some little hints of her past.**

 **So um please tell me if you liked and/or enjoyed this chapter!!**

 **RR!!**


	16. Shingeki No Kyojin Chuugakkou

**So this is not the continuation of the last chapter BUT it is still being written! Sorry,I'm getting busy.Like real busy. I forgot to mention school started last month and it already been a stressful month and I'm trying hard to get good grades because I'm graduating (from highschool) and need to have high grades to be accepted in this college I want so I'm getting serious.**

 **Though, that does not mean I'm abandoning this story..It's just that I won't be able to follow my monthly routine. I won't blame you if you guys get impatient or bored enough to quit this story, feel free to do what you want.Although, this is the only thing I can say for now, Please, do still support and follow my ,or rather , Rie's story and I'll try my best to keep you entertained and update as much as possible!**

 **With that said, This chapter is not only for this announcement but rather another (alternate universe?) chapter**

 **It's the story of Shingeki no Kyojin Chuggakou(did I spell that right?) or the chibi school A.U. The start of the chapter will be where the main gang joined the Survey Corps...(club) :3 It's just some random stuff I came up with.Enjoy!!**

•••

"Petra-senpai, You are all in this club, yes?" Eren asks the auburn-haired senior who was cleaning the windows together with the juniors.

"That's right."She answered, curious of his question.

"It seems.."

"...kind of empty"Mikasa finished Eren's sentence, agreeing on what he said.

"...Now that I think about it...Petra-senpai , Oluo-senpai, Gunther-senpai ,Eld-senpai, Mike-san..and also Hange-senpai and Levi-senpai...You are indeed quite few" Armin,with his favorite futon, joins in the conversation,counting the names mentioned using his fingers.

"Ahh. W-well, if we were larger, then this secret club would be noticed by the school authorities and will be shut down...B-besides! There's one other memb-"

Petra cut her sentence upon realizing her words

"One other member?" The juniors simultaneously questions

"N-nothing! There's no one at all! It's just us in the club!"Petra denies and looks away. The juniors eyed her suspiciously,not buying any of it.

"suspicious" Connie mentions

"Are you lying to your juniors?"Mikasa added and closed the distance between their faces for added threat.Petra sweatdropped.

•••

"There's indeed another member?"Jean asks Petra who was seated on a chair,defeated.

"..That's right"

"So, where is he? We've been going to this club for a few weeks now...We would've seen him one way or another"Eren wonders and his friends agree with him

"Does he not go to school often?"Armin also questioned.Petra looks away her face twisted to discomfort.

"...ehehe,...well...that one member.. **She's** quite a delinquent"Petra awkwardly laughed and they turned their heads to her.Staring.

"The member is a girl?!" Jean exclaimed ,his thoughts envisioning a cute girl who (might) like him and be his girlfriend, seemingly he did not hear the last part of the sentence.

"A delinquent?"Armin and Mikasa wonders

"Who is it? A person like that stands out! I wonder who she is?" Eren exclaims, his excitement getting the better of him.Just think.A delinquent is someone who rebels,right?. That means she fights those jerks! The titans!

"She- She does stand out..."Petra mutters,looking away and put her hands up to defend herself from the juniors' excitement.

"Yo , Petra! I can hear you guys from outside, what's up?" Eld entered the clubroom and waved at them.Gunther and Oluo entered next with brooms in their grip.

"Eld-senpai!! I heard there's another member!" The juniors surrounded Eld in a flash, bombarding him with questions.

"I heard it's a girl!! Is she cute?!"

"She's a delinquent, Petra-senpai says! Is that true?!"

"Who is she? What's her name? What does she look like?"

"Is she awesome?! Does she fight against the titans?!"

Taken aback by them,he backed up and realizing their questions, he looked at Petra.

"You told them?"

"W-well.."

" *sigh* There is another member. She is, like Petra says, sort of a delinquent?"Eld told the juniors.

"Where is she?Is she absent often?"Eren asks the blonde senior

"Where..you say"Eld awkwardly smiled and the juniors noticed that and got curious even more.

"...She's not here.In this campus, I meant" Gunther suddenly spoke.

"Eh?"

"She is enrolled in the human campus but chooses to hang out in the titan campus.She only attend here if there are tests or exams"Gunther explains

"Seriously?! Isn't she like in danger there?!"Eren exclaimed and the others agreed with him again.

"What do you think of the members of the Scout Regiment Club,Huh?! Any member of our club can handle a titan or two or they wouldn't have joined in the first place! Even that damn brat-"Oluo bit his tongue once he spoke the letter T,blood gushed out again.They stared but ignored it and returned their initial conversation.

"She's not in danger, don't worry.She's...a bit different."Gunther says as if Oluo did nothing at all.

"Rather her in danger, more like, The titans are in danger"Eld shuddered

"Huh?!"

"Yeah, She's like a beast..No, a monster.You know, It's said that titans bow down to her."Gunther added

"S-scary!!"The juniors simultaneously said imagining a beastly form (with breasts) that stood up proudly with tons of titans bowing to her.

"She's not that scary! I admit that she's...dangerous but she's really..nice?? No, wait...anyway, She does not mean any harm!"Petra shouts,standing up from her seat in the process

"Well yeah, but that's because you're her friend that's why you don't get to experience her pranks."Eld says ,narrowing his eyes at Petra.Behind him, Gunther and Oluo nodded in agreement

"But Petra is also right. She really does not mean any harm.She's just the type of person who does whatever she wants with no concern for authorities"Gunther smiles and reassures them,seeing the faces of the 1st year students.

"Ehh? Really? I wonder why she isn't expelled yet"Sasha wonders as a piece of bread is hanging between her teeth

"Beats me.But it's not like she breaks any rules or anything except for cutting class but I think the principal has no say to it since she's this school's ace"Eld shrugged

"Ace?"

"Even if she missed all classes and only attends when there are exams or tests, she is still one of those who has the highest grade out of all"

"She is also great at sports,right?"Gunther added

"In music class also and Home economics.Seems like she excels in every class"Petra added

"Woah.That means she's ranked first always in exams?"Eren asks still in awe at what he heard

"Nope.We said she has high grades and excels in every subject but she's not ranked first.Although, her rank is still amazing.She's ranked seventh"Petra says smiling at them

"Though, She would've been ranked higher if she attends class more often.The teachers are slightly annoyed and deducts a point to her grade"Gunther says

"That means she's talented,right? What a waste! If it were me, I'd use it to be the number one student in this school and be the student council president or something" Connie says to his friends .His friends laughed at that and some dread the day that would happen.

"..Yeah, to others, her talents and skills are a waste if she keeps doing what she's doing now but she'd disagree.I bet she'll say that it won't be waste if she enjoyed it herself and live however she want" Petra giggles and smiled at them

"...I see...What does she look like anyway?"

"It's not hard to look for her since her appearance is uncommon.She has white-ish hair that is up until her shoulders and the most known characteristic of her appearance is her crimson eyes" Petra says pointing at her own eyes

"I'm surprised you didn't see her when you went to the titan campus.She always roams around there and knows all what is happening over there...well, all things that interest her anyway"

"Hey,tomorrow,let's go to the titan campus again and try to search for her!"Eren suggests to his friends

"Whaaat?! G-go back to..to.. that??! NO WAY" Sasha cries out

"Are you stupid? Last time we were almost caught by them!"Jean shouts at him

"We know to be more careful now! What? Are you scared?"Eren shouts back

"Me? Scared? Ha! I'm just stating the facts that you are going to get caught by them!"

"This will take a while..." Armin mutters

•••

"I can't believe we're really doing this just to find one girl.Don't tell me you have a crush,Eren?"Jean says as he stared at the towering building(?) infront of them.

"Don't be stupid! I'm just curious to see who this other member is!"Eren retorts back as he started entering the building, careful to not make any loud noises to avoid them getting caught.

"I'm curious as well but don't you think it's not a good idea? I mean even they told us not to"Sasha says with a scared expression on her face.

•••

 _"What?! You're going to go there to search for her?!" Petra shouts at them_

 _"DON'T. I know you're all curious but please don't"Eld tries to convince them with his eyes hollow as a void_

 _"You know why we don't usually tell anyone about her? She's the one who told us not to.She hates people,you know! So if she spots any curious onlookers and managed to know of her existance inside there..."Gunther explains both of his hands on Eren's shoulders._

 _"...It won't be surprising if you did not come to school for a month"Eld finishes._

 _"S-scary" The juniors simultaneously muttered again_

 _"..You ought to know not to mess with her.The only ones who can (sometimes) control her is Hanji-san and Levi-senpai"Gunther added_

 _"Speaking of that, her strength is actually equals to Levi-senpai despite having opposite personalities"Petra adds on_

 _•••_

"Petra-senpai said she equals to Levi-senpai!! We should not try to search for her when she doesn't want us to!-Umph!"Sasha cries so loud that Mikasa stuffed her mouth with bread

"Y-yeah, I know that but we're just trying to sneak a peek" Eren sweatdrops upon realizing the consequences of being spotted.

They are currently hiding behind a huge pillar of the long and wide hallway,looking for any titans or a human.

They first went to every classroom to try to spot a human girl but she's not there.They went to every room in the buildings,not there.Then,they went to their "cafeteria" but also not there.The rooftop,not there.Even the restroom!

"Honestly,where could she be?"Jean says getting a bit frustrated,they were walking around for hours and still no sign of a human girl.

"Maybe..she's absent today?"Connie wonders

"Can't be.Petra-senpai says she always visits the club first thing in the morning and heads off to the titan campus.They did say that she went today."Armin answers ,also feeling tired from all the walking they've been doing

"Mm. I wonder where a girl like her hangs out... a person who's a delinquent,Violent,Likes to pull pranks, and someone who rebels so she will try to stay out of sight from authorities..."Eren wonders when he heard a noise.

"What the hell ya want?" A voice sounding like a female spoke out.The group stopped and upon realizing they walked to the back of the school,specifically a place far from the buildings and is surrounded by a warehouse and piles of boxes.They peeked at the place where they heard the voice,hiding behind a huge pile of huge boxes.

Three titans of the same height seems to be facing something..or _someone_ that is sitting on a huge box.It seems like they are picking a fight.The middle one shouted in a violent way with an angry face.

"Oh? Ya wanna fight? I can't understand ya guys but one of your guys ate my lunch so I just gave him his punishment.You gotta know what happens when I'm annoyed not getting to eat my lunch yesterday"The group finally was able to see the girl.

She is standing on one huge box,staring up at the three titans.She wore the standard uniform but she wears black shorts that reaches up until above her knees.Her left arm is wrapped with loose bandages.On her grip, is a bat.

There's something about her that Eren, Mikasa

and Armin felt familiar with but she's too far for them to get a good look on her.They can see that she has whiteish hair that reaches up to her shoulders.

"What'cha waitin' for? Got scared?" She says with a mocking tone.The middle one lunged at her and tried to grab her but she suddenly went up in the air,using some kind of machine?

"Ah! That!" Eren shouts, pointing at something worn by the girl.A machine that lets them clean the walls.It's the Wall Cleanup Club's 3D Manuever gear!

"The gear!!..but how did she get her hands on it?" Armin wonders as they watched the girl use it flawlessly.She went high above the titan's head and went down using the gear as a recoil and smashed her bat on the titan's face,exactly where his nose is.

It didn't do much damage to the titan since it was a human-sized bat but for some reason, the force of it was so strong, it sent strong gusts of winds from it's impact and sent the titan down to the ground.What fearsome strength this girl has!

The girl stood atop of the fallen titan, a smirk in her expression.Her bat laid on her shoulder as she stared at the other two,who is clearly frightened.

"Next!"

The two titans shooked their head and ran away,creating tremors from their footsteps.One accidentally hit the pile of boxes and sent it tumbling down.Coincidentally,It's the same pile of boxes the juniors are hiding behind.

"WHOAHH!"They screamed when the huge pile of huge boxes came tumbling down.They ran as far as they could but was still hit by the avalanche of boxes.

"Ow,ow!"

"That hurts!! Everyone, are you okay?"Eren says as he rubss his head.Piles of boxes surround them and good thing,no one was hurt.

"Still alive.."Armin sent a sigh of relief

"Eren,are YOU okay?"Mikasa says with her ever constant straight face.Out of all, she's the least bit dirty.

"Yeah..Hey,Where is she?" Eren says looking around

"Oh? What do we have here? Another set of curious brats?"The familiar voice says and the juniors all looked at the source.It's the girl herself,standing atop of the fallen huge boxes and her bat still in her grip.

Now with her being so near, the three finally can say that she is indeed familiar to them.

"Rie??!" The three exclaimed

"Hm?" Upon hearing her name,which nobody knows except the members of the Scouts, she observed them more closely.

"Ah.Mikasa?..Armin..and Eren..no way"She mutters

•••

"Huh??!! You joined the scouts??! And I didn't even know!"Rie shouts.They are currently going back to the human campus with Rie guiding them to avoid any titan trouble.

"We didn't expect the other member is actually you,Rie"Mikasa replied

"So wait, let me get this straight.You guys are childhood friends??"Jean asks

"Yeah.We were neighbors when we were young and we used to hang out together then she suddenly disappeared one day and never has heard from her ever since"Eren explained to his friends but a part of what he said made Rie raise a brow

"...Didn't my sister told you that we were moving out?"Rie asks

"No! No one told me about that! You just suddenly disappeared"

"Actually,Eren.That time, Angelica-nee told us that they were moving but you didn't actually took it seriously and thought it was a temporary thing"Mikasa explained and that made Eren silent

"...what an idiot."Rie muttered

"Sh-shut up!"

"You've grown,huh? I almost didn't recognize you"Rie says looking at their faces

"Especially Mikasa!! You've grown to be so pretty!"Rie gushed and hugged Mikasa.The other juniors stared in shock.The girl infront of them is acting like a really girlish high school girl as if she didn't made a titan fall to the ground with a dangerous smirk in her face earlier.

•••

Petra arrived at school a bit early and decided to sleep the remaining time.As she walked through the corrider going to her classroom,she find it weird that it's not as noisy as usual at this time of the morning.

Well,she can hear voices but instead of daily chatter, she can hear loud murmurs.She stopped at the door of her classroom and noticed some of her classmates are staring at one place in the classroom,noticeably it was directed at the location of where her seat is and she got anxious.

What's happening? Did Oluo put something weird in my seat again?

She nervously slammed open the door and to her surprise,it's not what she initially thought.

"Rie?!"She half-shouted noticing the always absent classmate and friend of hers on her own seat.Petra's was just right infront of Rie's.

"Ah.Petra.Yohoo~Long time no see"Rie waved a lazy hand with a monotonous voice.

Petra walked up to her seat,she could hear the murmurs of her classmates..

" _It's not exam day,isn't it? Why did she attend today?"_

 _"Look,It's Rie.She's amazing,you know.Not attending most classes but still able to get the most highest grade."_

 _"wahh,she's scary~.I heard she has control over those titans and they bow down to her!"_

Petra put her bag on her desk.Rie is really famous.She has people knowing her even if it's someone who is amazed,hates or even a neutral party.

"What's up? Why'd you attend class all of a sudden?"Petra asks her friend.Rie does not like people.Petra admit they were less than strangers when they first met.It took her a long time to actually befriend her and Rie did said that she considers her as a friend.

"You. You did not tell me that we had new recruits!"Rie glared lightly at Petra.Even a light glare from her would reduce a normal person to a shivering mess but those who know her are already used to it.

"Well, we really had no way to contact you,you know! All you really leave in the club are pranks that tells us that you went to school that day!"Petra retorts back and Rie crossed her arms and huffed.

"..What about them?"Petra asks.It was weird that she's asking about people.

"..Three of them are my childhood friends which I haven't seen in forever.You know,I treasure them more than my life!"She pouted and shot an angry look at Petra.

"...e...eh?"Petra was a bit shocked.Rie has childhood friends? and the face she made...It's unlike her to do that at all!!

"Goodmorning-Eh? Rie??!"Eld shouted and behind him are Gunther and Oluo who curiously peeked.

"So, you finally decide to attend like a good student,huh?"Oluo says when he finally put his bag on his desk.He crosses his arms and faced the white-haired girl.

"I'm not attending that much but still has higher grades than you"Rie smirked at him.True, Oluo scores a perfect 100 on written exams but he has average grades on any other subjects.

"So those new recruits, three of them are your childhood friends and because of them,you are now attending classes?"Gunther asked

"Pretty much.By the way, when does class ends? I want to go to their classroom"Rie says,clearly bored..

"I HEARD!!" somebody slammed open their classroom door and that somebody is a certain titan fanatic.

"Rie is attending classes??!! Ah, there she is!! Rie!!" Hanji waved at her and jumped at her

"Hanji..Get the fuck away!"Rie says annoyed and pushes Hanji's face away from her.Hanji and Rie were more closer than Her and Petra.Hanji is Rie's first friend in this school after all.

"You're back here,huh? Thought for sure the shitty glasses rubbed off on you and liked the disgusting stench of titans over there"Levi walks in and crosses his arms.

"Oh! What was their smell like?!"Hanji butted in and leaned closer again to Rie's face

"Disgusting"She said as she forcefully pushed Hanji away with one push and letting her fall down to the ground.Then she stared at Levi and Levi likewise...

"Did...you actually got smaller since the last time I saw you?"

Rie stood up from her seat in time to dodge the incoming doom of Levi's paper fan.The sound made a loud noise that made everyone think that it could seriously kill you.

Then Rie took out a pistol.Rather it's a pellet gun.It could not actually kill a person but..Rie modified it and a single pellet could actually have a force as strong as a bullet.

and they started a fight right there in the classroom.

•••

 **Note: No nearby classmates were hurt during the fight...except for one who bit his tongue in the process.**

 **So that's it! I'll maybe try to do another chapter where what do they do in this alternate universe and such but next chap is the continuation of the story**

 **I would like to apologize in advance If I'm not able to do the monthly update because of school**

 **but please continue to support this story!!**


	17. Chapter 13: You will survive,won't you?

_"Rie...Why do you think humans die?"_

 _She looks at her.Her expression unchanging but you can see she's in deep thought._

 _"I don't know..."_

 _"...For me, I think it's because they don't deserve to live longer."_

 _"Why do you even want to know? You don't usually care about them"_

 _"...Hmm..You're right! As long as you're with me, I don't care about anyone else!..I'd do anything for you and you'd do anything for me!..won't you?..Promise me..Only me?..because for me, It's only you.."_

 _"...Yeah...I promise"_

•••

"Gunther!!"

Eren stares at the hanging corpse of his former comrade.His nape slit open and eyes wide.Then he felt a tugging that pulled him forcibly.

"Eren!! Don't slow down!!Keep moving!"Oluo shouts at him and pulls him through his collar

"Who did it??!!"Petra shouts,looking around for the suspect,Anger in her expression.

"Protect Eren!! The suspect is using 3D Gear!!"Eld commands over them,looking around for the suspect also

"Fuck it all!! Eld! Where should we go??!!"Oluo shouts

"Forget about the horses!! Our top priority is to reach our commanders and comrades!!"

"Is that the one who's inside that female titan?! or are there several of them?! Shit! The nerve that fucker got!!"Oluo curses, anger also blatant in his expression remembering his former comrade just got killed.

"COME OUT! You have no honor!! But I'm still going to give you a fair chance!!"Petra shouts at the unknown person behind them and she started to move.

A thunder crackling.A bright light blinded their eyes and before them is once again the female type titan.

"So it's really her!! She's coming!!"Eld shouts

"I...I've had enough!! This time, I'm going to fight her!!"Eren says as he brings his left hand to his mouth.

"No, you won't!! The three of us will deal with her! Eren!Rie! You go on ahead to our commander's place as fast as you can!!"Eld ordered them

"I'm going to fight too!!"Eren shouts back

"It's best if you don't!! You power is too risky!"

"What's that?! Are you doubting our abilities?!"Oluo says to him

"Is that true,Eren? You don't believe in us?" Petra looks at him in a desperate attempt of convincing him.

"...are you sure?"Rie spoke out.A strange tone made them turn their attention to her.

"Gunther is killed by that titan.It knows very well how to kill us while we don't even know how can we capture seeing as it failed.It knows that we don't know much about them.What other surprises do you think she has that we can't expect?"Her voice came off emotionless.Unlike her usual monotone voice,she speaks in a terrifingly calm manner which contrasts to the panic they are feeling.She looks ahead of them,not looking at their faces.

"...Rie..You've been with us for 2 years..Don't you trust us?! When you said to me that you trust us the other night...Was that a lie?"Petra stares at her

"...I'm not saying I don't trust you.I'm saying that we are at a disadvantage when that titan is our enemy.We'll just waste useless time and resources in fighting her.Even Erwin's plan failed against her." Rie says,she can hear the closing distance of the female titan and knows there's not much time if they keep arguing like this.It's either they fight or flee.

"...Our mission is to protect Eren at all costs...If we let her go like this any longer then Eren will be in danger.That is why..we are going to deal with her and you will protect Eren,won't you?"Eld speaks to her.

"...You'll die"She says straightforwardly.She looks back at them.Her eyes hold much more emotion than her emotionless tone.She looks at them in fear and in desperation.The members look at the expression Rie is making.It was an unusual sight.

"...What's with that face? I thought you won't grieve for us if we die? We're not planning to die anytime soon but you're already looking like that"Eld slightly smiled.Rie looks surprised and looks away.

"...Rie,I'm telling you once again, Trust us...and we trust you to protect Eren,alright?"Petra smiles at her.Rie stares, a contemplative look on her face before she faced forward again.

"...Don't need to tell me twice..Eren!"Rie looks at Eren.He nodded and looked ahead of them.

"I believe in my teammates' victory!!"Eren says as he and Rie went ahead.Oluo,Eld and Petra slowed down to meet with the female titan.

Eld attacks first but the female titan readies her right hand to smack it against him but he evaded in time.Out of nowhere,Oluo and Petra swiftly cuts her eyes leaving her blinded.

Knowing she can't see, the female titan raised her arms to block her nape and backed away until her back is on a tree and she stayed like that.

Eld gave a signal to them,pointing at his shoulder.The two nodded and proceeded into action.They sliced the muscle in her shoulder.The female titan's arms fell down.She is left open.

Eren and Rie looked at them.Eren stares in awe at their teamwork.He grins and looked forward.Rie notices this.

"..Eren..I still won't retract my statement that they are at a disadvantage...I...really think...they will die.."Rie stared at him with a grim expression and went back to her comrades leaving Eren behind.Eren stopped and stared at her.He suddenly remembered the Corporal's words.

 _'I don't know.No one knows the result of your choice until you've seen it for yourself'_

Eren looks at the three members fighting.Rie is using her fastest speed to get to them.Eld use the chance of her being defenseless to his advantage and raises his blades to slice the titan's nape.

Rie arrived and noticed a strange movement of the female titan's head.She used her fastest speed to push him out of the way.He is nearly to her nape when It's mouth swallowed and bit his upper half .Rie missed his body or rather Eld was already bitten before she was able to grab ahold of him.

Rie fell to the ground,holding Eld's lower half in her arms.When she realizes what she was holding, She drops it in shock and felt the sticky blood on her fingers.

"ELD!!!"

"W-what's going on?! She shouldn't be able to see yet!"Petra panicks and saw the female titan's one eye restored.

"She prioritized one eye to regenerate faster?!! How can she even do that??!!"Petra says losing her balance

"PETRA!! GET AWAY!!"Rie shouts at her.

"Petra!!Righten your balance,quick!!"Oluo shouts at her but she seems to hear nothing.The female titan ran after her.

Rie was about to push her out of the way.Even if she is the receiving end of that Female titan's foot.She ran and was about to use her 3D gear to accelerate herself to Petra.

 _'Promise me...Only me?'_

Rie stopped.Something stopped her or...she stopped herself from getting herself into danger.Her mind blanked out and stared at the ground.Her mind is wavering and is at loss of what to do.

"PETRA!! DO IT!!"

Rie snapped her attention back up.She saw with her own eyes,right infront of her.Petra is smashed against a tree by the foot of the female titan.Her minds blanks out again.She stares hard at Petra's bended corpse.

She did not even budge when Oluo attacked the female titan but was kicked to death by it instead.

She did not even paid attention to the female titan's hand about to grab her.

She did not even cared when a familiar thunder boom resounded and Eren's titan growled in fury and fought the female titan.

She only stared at Petra's lifeless corpse.She walked towards it and stared again.She ignored everything around her even the sounds and the vibration of the land around them from the two titans' fight.In her head,It's all silent...then she felt a presence.

"What are you doing?.."

"Are you mourning her?"

"I saw it.You were about to sacrifice yourself for her"

"Are you forgetting about her?"

"Right.You've already forgotten her but..."

"...I won't let you forget what you did"

"I don't want to see you hurt in any way but if this is what is needed..."

"...You said...you don't know..but..your eyes...are still the same.."

"...Rie...Are you lying?.."

Rie felt there was no one else anymore.All the time,her eyes are focused on Petra's corpse.She stares at her lifeless eyes.

Then a strong gust of wind ran past above her.A huge object flew above and landed in a loud manner.She turned her head to her left to see the object to be a titan head.It's Eren's titan's head.

She whipped her head to the direction it came from.She watched as the female titan open it's mouth wide open and devoured Eren.

"Eren!!"She shouted.

The female titan looked at her for a second and ran away.Rie,with a dark look on her face,followed after her.

Suddenly, a soldier zoomed past her.It looks like she has silky black hair..and a red scarf.

"Mikasa?!"Rie exclaimed,catching the girl's attention.

"Rie.."Mikasa looks at her in a way that guilts the white-haired woman.

"Yeah..Sorry.It was unexpected and...I kind of lost focus.Let's just get him back.I don't think he's dead yet"Rie says focusing on the running female titan.

Mikasa went past Rie and suddenly lunged at the female titan with incredible techniques,slicing at every muscle she has.

"Give him back!!"Mikasa screamed slicing at the female titan's tendon,leaving her unable to run anymore.She kneeled at the ground and the whole time her hand covered her nape.

"Woah.."Rie expresses her awe.

Mikasa aimed for her nape but her blades were broken by a mysterious blue shade on the female titan.

"Eren's alive.I know he is.I'll cut her up and gut her and get you out of that vile place.So..wait a little longer,Eren"Mikasa mutters to herself,new blades at ready.

The female titan looked at her and smashed a fist at her.Mikasa evaded and with that the Female titan ran again.Mikasa was about to follow her when someone grabbed her.

"Fall back for now"Levi says to her.Rie just behind him.

"We'll follow her keeping our distance for the moment.Looks like she's pretty exhausted, her speed dropped significantly.The whole nape area of Eren's titan form is bitten out.Is he dead?"Levi asks them.

"No.Eren's alive.The titan is intelligent.If it were planning to kill him,It would've done so by either crushing him or biting him in half.It put his whole body inside it's mouth.I think it plans to escape with him"Rie says,her eyes still focused on the female titan.Levi stared at her but she paid it no mind.

"Then,maybe she was trying to devour Eren all along.In that case,he's pretty much in his stomach now,which means he's dead"Levi says.

"He's alive"Mikasa says seriously

"I hope so"

"In the first place, had you performed your duty to protect Eren properly, this wouldn't have happened"Mikasa says in an annoyed tone or an angry tone,Rie couldn't tell which.

Rie's eyes seems to almost lose focus once again but stopped herself and focus on the mission...She did warn them...and she should have stopped Eren from transforming and fighting the female titan.

"...Mikasa-"

"You're...Eren's childhood friend who was present at the trial,right?"Levi looked at her and Mikasa has this confused expression.

"I see"

"We're gonna have to narrow down our list of objectives to one and...first of all, we need to give up on taking down this female titan."Levi commands to the two of them.

"...but she's killed lots of soldiers"Mikasa intervenes.

"As long as she's able to harden her skin,slaying her is impossible.We'll bet everything on the possibility that Eren is alive and rescue him before she gets out of this forest."

"You'll draw her attention.Rie..."Levi looked at Rie who nodded back to him.

Rie and Mikasa went infront of the female titan catching her attention.Rie shot off a few bullets which the female evaded easily.Then Levi came swinging to her.

The female titan quickly whipped around and aimed a fist but Levi evaded and cut her arm up with his signature blade technique and in a swift motion he propelled himself to her eyes and stabbed them.

Rie came from above and swooped down to it's legs and sliced with quick motions almost parallel to Levi's.Levi targeted it's tendons and it's thighs along with Rie.

In a span of 10 seconds, The female titan crashed down on her butt with her right arm still protecting her nape until Levi cut her right arm up,leaving her nape defenseless.

Mikasa watched but seeing the nape exposed,she reached for the opportunity to kill her.She swung down unaware of the giant hand about to swat her away and when she did notice,she tries to evade.

"Mikasa!!"Rie was about to rescue her when Levi reached her first.

Levi pushed her away and used the female's arm as a platform.Rie noticed how Levi's foot bended and the pained expression he had for a moment.Then he proceeded to cut it's mouth,leaving it hanging open.

Eren ,still alive, slid down from it's tongue covered with saliva.Levi took him immediately and ordered a retreat.

"He seems fine..a bit dirty too..Forget about her!We're withdrawing!"Levi commanded,carrying Eren on his side.

"Remember the goal of this plan..or is satisfying your desires nore important than your friend here?"Levi says and they finally went out of that forest.Rie looked back at the female titan ,slumped against a tree.Crying.

Rie looked forward again and when they reached the soldiers,Erwin issued a retreat to the Walls.

•••

Eren opened his eyes and having remembered previous events,sat up in a hurry.

"Eren! Don't try to get up yet.You should rest for now"Mikasa says who's riding a horse right beside the cargo where Eren is resting in.On the other side is Rie,her gaze up ahead,silently listening.

"...W-what about the plan? The female titan?!"Eren asks,a hint of fear in his tone for the answer.

"...It failed"Mikasa replied

"...This is...Did you save me again?"Eren asks looking at himself.

Mikasa did not reply and pulled her red scarf to cover her mouth.

"We're almost at the wall.."

Then they heard horses galloping much faster than their pace and huge footsteps that resounded.They looked behind them and saw a soldier,carrying a corpse of his friend and is being chased by titans.

"Captain!! Two soldiers led titans to our position! What do we do?!"A soldier asked Levi who's a bit infront.Levi took a quick glance to the cargo which contained the corpses of his fallen comrades

"Unload the cargo"He ordered.It was evident in his face that the soldier is taken aback by that

"..b-but-"

"They have no use anymore."With that,the soldier reluctantly obeyed.He released the wrapped bodies of their fallen comrades.

Rie glanced a look and recognized Petra's face when the wrapping came loose and she immediately faced forward.At the same time,Levi also glanced a look.

•••

The bells resounded signalling the Survey Corps' return.The Garrison lifted up the gate and the Survey Corps entered in,pulling in their own respective horses.The villagers were lined up in the sides,others voicing out their opinions and others watching silently.

"Didn't they just left? They were so pumped up early this morning..and look! these no-goods are back by noon!"

"Why did they even go outside at all?"

"Dunno..but-"

"Based from their grim expressions,it all went to vain again"

"Well,they've succeeded in wasting our taxes again on their stupid stunts outside"

Eren grits his teeth and tried to stand up and talk back to those who said insults.Mikasa tries to stop him from doing or saying anything and Rie watches.The three's gazes landed on two kids,looking at them in awe.

"Wow! This is the legendary Survey Corps! They're so cool!! They keep fighting even after taking that much damage!"The boy says.The three remembers their time when they used to do the same.

Rie broke of her thoughts and saw a man approaching Levi.It's Petra's father.

He kept talking to Levi but is receiving no reply.Rie closed her eyes silencing the shouts of the people on her mind

"Commander Erwin!! We have questions!!"

"Have you managed to accomplish a grandiose goal to make up for the number of victims the Survey Corps have suffered?!"

"Do you have regrets sacrificing your soldiers?!"

•••

Days after the expedition or rather they chose not to call it that because of the huge costs and the failure.

Levi,Eren and Rie were all waiting in the dining hall waiting for Erwin,seems like he has something to say.Eren already told Levi what exactly happened on that day when he left them.Rie, as usual, pretends to sleep by burying her face in her crossed arms on the table.

"...Damn.Erwin's taking a long time"Levi says

"Those bastards making me wait"He added.He glanced a look at Eren who does not intend to give a reply

"...Maybe he got constipated or something"He jokes .Eren looks at him and lightly laughed and then it got quiet again...

"Corporal...you seem kind of chatty today"Eren comments on his behavior.Levi drinks tea from his cup.

"Don't be stupid.I always talk my share."Levi replied

"...I'm sorry.If...only...at that time..I hadn't made the wrong choice...things would've been different"Eren looked down,not wanting to look at Levi's eyes.Guilt is evident in his tone and Levi knows this as well.

"I told you,didn't I? No one knows how their choice will turn out"Levi told him but recieved no reply this time.Just then the doors opened and three people went in.

"Sorry to keep you waiting...We have an Idea who the female titan is"Erwin announces to them and came in together with Mikasa and Armin.

"Annie Leonhart"

•••

After their meeting,Erwin dismissed them.Eren,Mikasa and Armin decided to call it a day and went to their own sleeping quarters.Levi and Rie,who is "sleeping" during the duration of the whole meeting, are left.

"Oi.Stop pretending to sleep already...or are you really planning to spend the night here?"Levi comments however there is no sign of reply or even a tinge of movement from the girl other than her breathing.

"Hey,Do you hear me?..Rie-"

"...sorry"

Levi stopped for a moment.He hardly understand what she said since she muttered it quickly and softly.He cannit also believe his ears.This girl..or rather,woman, as she puts it, is saying sorry? It was a first he heard her say it and it might be a little rude to think of her that way but that was what she was acting.

"...You're like Eren now? I told you, no one knows how their choice is going to turn out."Levi says taking another sip of his tea.

"...I know...I know that if they continued fighting,they'll die...our best bet is try to outrun that female titan but...I didn't do anything"She mutters again and sone words were inaudible from Levi but was able to understand her message.

"What stopped you?"He asks simply but the girl took a long time to answer

"...I...have to survive...I won't die here..I **cannot** die here"Rie answers.Levi recognizes determination in her tone.She is resolved to survive.

Rie hears a chair dragged on the floor and Levi stood up.She peeks a look and notices something nearing her face.

Rie's eyes widen. A hand rested on her head.Levi's patted her head and ruffled it.

"That's good thinking.You just only need to live...to survive.Don't die"With that said,Levi left the dining hall with Rie staring at him with a confused face as if he had grown an extra head.Simply put, he acted weird earlier.well.almost.

Rie touched her hair and fixed it to it's original hairstyle.She,as well, stood up and left the dining hall also deciding to call it a day and sleep.

They have an important mission upcoming anyways.She needs to be ready at all costs.

•••

 **woop. well lookie here,looks like I was able to upload a bit earlier than the usual!!**

 **by the wayyy, I'm following the events in manga through the next chapters! please support and read my story!!**

 **This is c.sky and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!**


	18. Chapter 14 : Mission to Accomplish

Rie, as a soldier of the Survey Corps , must uphold her duties as one and wake in the morning in a time appropriate for a soldier. They are trained to sleep early and wake up early.Although Rie,try as she might, she's not really an early riser.She either wakes up when all soldiers are training or having a meeting or she is waken up by a grumpy Levi which leads to a bad morning for Rie.

Though,strangely, for today , She wakes up so early that the sun isn't even out yet.Not used to her unusual time of waking up,her brain is sort of in a drunken state.She splashed her face with water but is still in a sleepy mood.She left her room and walked through the hallways,swaying left and right.

She was bored and she felt not eating breakfast yet and so she went to the a certain person's room where she always hangs out.She stops on a certain door as if it was already a routine and had already memorized the route to this very room.Rubbing her eyes,she slowly opened the door.She spoke out,drawling on the words.

"Heeey, Petra...I'm hangin' here fer... a whiiile.Got up on an... *yawn*...unusual ti-"

Usually a female voice would suddenly yell in surprise of the surprise visit and reprimand her to at least,knock on her door before entering.What greeted Rie is the silence and the empty room that belongs to ,what was once, her comrade and friend.

After a moment of realization,Rie closed the door and walked away.

Rie walked aimlessly around the barracks,finding something to do.That's when she noticed a light coming from the mess hall indicating someone's already there.

Curious enough to see who it is, Rie made her way there.She slowly approached the entrance and peeked.One person is all alone eating his own share of breakfast.It's Levi.

With nothing else to do,Rie decided to eat her breakfast too.With that,she grabbed a piece of bread along with soup and made her way to where Levi's sitting.

"Mornin' Levi..."Rie greeted Levi who just noticed her presence.He gave a slight nod and Rie proceeded to sit across from him.While eating, Rie noticed a pair of steel gray eyes staring at her.

"...what?" She asked with an annoyed tone,slightly glaring at the man infront of her.

"...You're up early.That's damn unusual for you"He replied,sipping from his tea with a cup that is very familiar with Rie.

"..Yeah, I already established that with myself. Thanks for pointing it out.You won't be able to use your grumpy ass voice to wake me up for today" She took a bite from her bread,ignoring the look Levi gave from her sass.

"...The hell made you wake up this early?"

"...As if I know. I just woke up and don't feel like sleeping again."

"...Something disturbed your sleep.?"

Rie put the spoon back to the bowl making a slightly loud noise that echoed quietly in the mess hall.Rie stared for a moment at Levi and noticing this,He stared back ,curious of what's on her mind.

"...You're quite talkative today" Rie stated.She somehow knew why he is like this.Perhaps the silence was too much.It was a bit...noisy.. when _they_ were here and it kind of stuck in the air.Is he filling in those holes _they_ left behind?

"...Even you...I always talk my share..And how about you? You would always converse with me and others in a short response.Not really up for a conversation"

He's right.I would usually listen to others talk and whenever I feel like I should say something, I would say it and that's it.I usually have long conversations with Petra.Maybe we're both the same.Filling in the holes.The silence is too much.It's...unusual.

Funny how we're both being like this.He was called cold-blooded and how he never expresses any emotions towards his comrades and me who stated to everyone that I don't care if they died and I have no human value.

Yet, here we are...obviously trying to be strong but..our minds still go to _them_.

"...Wanted someone to talk to, that's all" Rie shrugged, keeping her emotionless face infront of Levi's piercing gaze.

"There's that titan brat as well as your friends"He replied after a short while.

"..Oh? Not suggesting yourself? Not up for a conversation as well, I see" She slightly smirked at him

"As if a conversation with you actually goes well"

"..but aren't we having a pleasant conversation right now?"Rie stated

"If only you were always this behaved like now"Levi retorted back to her.Rie popped a vein upon hearing the word 'behave' as if he is treating her like a dog which she doesn't like at all.She was about to retaliate with a brawl,standing up in the process but soon realized that he has an injury.

"...Oh. That's right. How's your leg?"

"...It's fine but I'm still not able to join in today's mission"Levi says,glancing a look at his injury.He looks back at Rie whose eyes seem distant.Probably thinking about the mission today.

"...You better make sure the brat do the plan as told, alright?" Rie blinked and realized that she was spacing out.She gave a slight nod indicating she heard his sentence.

"..Yeah. You know I can control him better. I assure you, I won't let him do such stupid shit again" Rie's eyes showed determination and that was enough for Levi.

"...And also,stick to your principles.That is to survive,isn't it? I know you just won't sit still while Eren's having all the action on that Titan" Levi reminded her and Rie almost scoffed at that.Rie could understand him caring for his comrades but it sounded like he was concerned for her too...which was not that unbelievable for him but it is useful for future teasing material.

" Not like That titan bitch who grew confident of her half-ass skills could hurt me.Watch me. I'll tear her to shreds and make her regret the fact she messed with the scouts" Rie smirked,putting up a hand on her hip.

"Idiot. Don't kill her.We'll have no witness"

"..metaphorically,then."Rie,finishing her breakfast, stood up and was about to leave.

"Since you expressed concern for me, might as well do the same, So Take care of that leg injury of yours.Don't move so much.There's only so much distance both legs of yours can take you anyways,how much is it if it's only one?"She smirked and waved goodbye to prepare for the mission, satisfied with leaving Levi who is glaring daggers at her with a dark look.

•••

Later on, the order to bring Eren to Wall Sina was issued and they are currently riding a carriage going there.

That is what they thought.

Jean is inside the carriage pretending to be Eren with it being 100% foolproof while the others set out to their real mission.

Armin is to ask Annie Leonhart for help to let Eren escape from the MPs but it was really a facade just to lure her out underground into the tunnel.She agreed and is currently with Eren,Armin, Mikasa and Rie who is wearing long cloaks over their body.

"So! Annie,was it? What was Eren and the others like back when you were trainees?"

and here Rie is,chatting up Annie like an annoying mother who is trying to dig up information about her children.The three followed suit behind them staring at an unlikely attitude from their older friend.

When meeting the female titan's human form personally who killed members of her squad which changed her attitude which is obvious to others, they thought she would not keep up the facade and glared at her angrily or even get behind her and put a knife at her neck.

Oddly enough, they did expect her to do just that and skipped straight to the point.She would likely threaten her that she can slice off her head clean.Even if Annie transformed right then and there,All of them had 3DMG at the moment and can escape in a nick of time but-

' _There would be other civilians around'_

They dismissed the thought.Even if Rie is most likely to do it,she still has a compassion for human lives,right? She wouldn't risk human lives just for revenge.

"Hey...Not up for a conversation? Come on, don't be so anti-social!" Rie tilted her head to face Annie.Her eyes stared at her,not taking her gaze off her.It hides a dangerous intent so strong that it's strange that it's oblivious to others.

Annie looked at her, keeping her gaze. Rie stared back and smiled innocently, tilting her head to give off a questioning expression.The blonde broke off her gaze and faced forward once again.

"You said you were childhood friends. By now, you would know how they acted during those times even if you're not there" Annie replied with a cold tone

"...Hmm, You're probably right.Eren probably got into fights again with Mikasa there to stop it and Armin being the usual him" She said with a mocking tone aimed at a certain male brunette.Her lips twisted to a mocking smirk.

The subjects of the topic behind them stood quiet although they had mixed expressions on their faces.Eren,upon hearing it, has an annoyed face and looked like he wants to speak up.Mikasa, as usual, has a neutral expression and Armin laughed uncomfortably.

Rie tried to speak with Annie once more but sensing she's not replying any time soon, she stopped and focused more on their mission.After a while, they've finally found the underground passage and the four proceeded to go in but Annie stopped.

"Hm? What are you doing? Don't tell me you're scared of the dark?"Eren questions the blonde who stood still at the entrance of the passage.

"That's right! I'm not you...I'm not a brave,reckless guy like you.There is no way a guy like you could understand the feelings of a frail,weak girl like me!" She reacted strangely.By strange, She was like a bored girl unaffected of events around her earlier but now she's expressing emotions...exaggerated emotions, that is.

"Those who can flip big,burly men like it's nothing is no frail,weak girl.Now come on,let's get going"Eren says as he continued to descend the staircase.

"No.If you're not taking the surface route, I won't help you"

"w-What are you saying?! Get down here now!!"Eren shouted,looking at Annie desperately

"Eren.Don't shout"Mikasa reprimands him.

"And why not, Mikasa? For some reason...There are no people around..." The surrounding area is filled with silence strange for a central town in Sina which supports her statement.

"Geez, I'm hurt. Armin, since when did you start looking at me with those eyes?"

"...Annie,why were you in possesion of Marco's gear? I know all the scratches it has since we worked on it together..."

"...I just...found it"

"Then! the one who killed the captured titans,was it you?!"

"Maybe,maybe not. If you came with all these conclusions, why didn't you do anything?"

"I thought that there was something wrong with my train of thought but...it's because you didn't kill me back then that things turned the way they are now!"

"I agree...why didn't I killed you back then?"

"Annie!! There's still a chance!You can prove that you're just an idiot who backed up some shitty asswipe's big joke!! Come down here and prove it!!"Eren shouted at her.Rie listened at their exchange.Annie already confirmed it.She's that bitch titan.

I had enough, come, female titan"Mikasa unsheathed her blade and pointed it at Annie.

"You." Rie called her attention.Her hand infront of Mikasa ,who is ready to fight, halting her.

"After taking Eren at that time...you were also about to take me as well.What the hell is that about?"Rie stared at her with a serious expression.

"...Someone ordered me to.I'm surprised that you're still living here.After all, **she** said that you'll come looking for her"

Rie's serious face broke off and turned to shock.

"She...??."

" **She** **'s** impatient.I can't defy her after all.You know why.Wanted me to find a white-haired girl with unique pair of blood red eyes.To bring you to her or let you know that...

... _she's looking for you_ "

Annie finished.Rie doesn't seem to be able to reply with shock still on her face.Then,she scanned the faces of the three.Slowly,she smiled and then she snickered and finally she laughed.

She laughed and laughed.

"...You won your bet, Armin...but this is where mine starts!"She slowly lifted her hand as if to bite her hand using the same method as Eren to transform.

BANG*

Armin fired the sound grenade signalling others to take action.Soldiers emerged from their hiding spots and pulled Annie's arms away and put a handkerchief to her mouth to avoid biting her tongue.

The four stared as Annie is being held.She stared at them.Her eyes not having fear but as if she knows what we planned.

What they did not expect is a small blade hidden in her ring.She uses it to cut herself and a familiar spark lights up.

Rie and Mikasa noticed this and grabbed Armin and Eren to run deeper inside the passage avoiding the dangerous spark of light that signals a titan's transformation.

Annie Leonhart has transformed.Plan A has failed.

Armin and Eren stared at the walls of the entrance.Now,decorated with blood and the broken corpses of soldiers.

"O-oh my god" Armin spoke out.His eyes widens in fear at the result of the earlier event.

"Eren,can you stand? Run for it!"Mikasa says and as if on cue a large hand came in and started to find Eren.

The four ran deeper to the passage with a hand chasing after them.It stopped and retracted it's hand once she felt nothing.

"H-how did she transform?!"Armin shouts out

"There was a blade in her ring"Rie states

"How could I overlook such a thing? She must've known we were going to ambush her from the very start!"

"Save your self-deprecation for later.Now, tell what should we do."Mikasa says

"...For now, we will meet up with the third squad and proceed to the surface where we will do battle with Annie,the female type titan."Armin focuses finally and held a serious expression.

"Eren,you will turn into a titan and capture Annie"

"...got it"

After running for a while, they finally see the figure of a soldier, he waved at them.

"I take it Plan A has failed?!"He shouts

"Yes!! Let's proceed to plan B!!-"

A gigantic foot came crushing down the roofs of the tunnel where the soldier was.The four stopped on their tracks.The foot retracted and the view of the female titan is visibly seen.

"L-let's help him!!"Eren rushes forward to the soldier

"Eren,stay back!"Rie pulled him roughly and pushed him away from the rubble.

"But he might still be alive!!"

"Dumbass,ya think a human could survive that? He's good as dead. What? You think it's better if YOU died instead?" Rie reprimands him who got annoyed at his actions just now.

"She..destroyed the roof of the tunnel"Armin stares in fear as the female titan looks down at the hole she created.

"Tch.Crazy fucking bitch.Doesn't she care what happens to Eren?"Rie curses and glared at the female titan above them.

"She's making a gamble.She's hoping that Eren would be unharmed...It's a crazy gamble but that what makes her scary.."Armin explains

"Hey, what should we do now? She cut off our escape route and it's only a matter of time before we get crushed ourselves if we don't move" Rie crossed her arms and stared at Armin,hoping he has a solution.

"I'll do something about it..I'll transform like that time with the cannonball"Eren says and pulls us nearer to him.With that, he bites through his hand making it bleed...but he didn't transform.

"HUH??!! WH-why now??!!"He bites again making it bleed heavily.His mouth filled with his own blood.The two except Rie grimaced from the pain he is making from biting through.

"Are you doing it right? You can't transform without a clear goal in mind!"Armin told him

"I'm trying!!"

"...Isn't it because...you are hesitant to fight Annie? Don't tell me...even now, you still think Annie being the female titan is just you imagining things.Didn't you see her earlier? The one who killed your squadmates is that woman, wasn't she?" Mikasa's expression darkened while facing Eren.

"..is that so? After that display earlier, you still don't want to fight her?..Look, I don't know that Annie woman whatsoever so I can't really tell if she is the female titan or not but she literally transformed right infront of your eyes" Rie raised an eyebrow at him and put her hands on her hips letting out a sigh

"Shut up!! I'm resolved to fight her , don't you see?!"He shouted in frustration ,once again biting hard on his hand

"Okay.I've thought of a plan"Armin suddenly says and picks up his blades.The three perked up at his sentence.

"Me,Rie and Mikasa are going to simultaneously run out of each end of the tunnel,wearing our hoods.When we do this, Annie will go after one of us.Eren,you use that chance to escape through which side isn't targeted by her.I think she'll much more likely to follow if a two people went out at the same end so we should choose which of us will go at which end"Armin explains to them in a hurry.Both Mikasa and Rie readied their blades.

"Mikasa and I will both go through that then .It's better if it's us she'll follow"Rie says pointing her blade to the entrance.Armin nodded and headed to the other direction just before another hole was created once again by the female titan,It was a bit closer to them.It's only a matter of time before they were crushed.

"W-wait a minute!! This..That means...one of you will die!!"Eren shouts at his friends.The idea of losing another loved one tortures him so.

"If we stay here, All of us are bound to die"Armin replies as he walks away

"H-How..."

"We have no choice, Eren...The world is a cruel place"Mikasa says as she also walks away to the other direction.Rie stays for a while.She stares at Eren with a contemplative look.She walked towards him and kneeled infront of him.

"...Eren...Choose what you want to do..Nevermind Erwin's orders or Mikasa and Armin's for now.Empty your mind of the mission for now.What do you want to do?...Fight Annie and be one step closer to your goal or Don't fight her because she's a special friend of yours and let yourself be taken by her."Rie stares him down.Eren felt the familiar aura again.Once again, He felt like the Rie now is not her.

"Be selfish.What do you want to do?Like Levi says,you don't know the result of your actions so choose the one you'll regret least...but you have these choices...or... **create your own choice**.I'll see your answer after you escape. Better not regret it.."She says as she followed after Mikasa.In Armin's mark, they both went out at the same time but just before Annie crushed open another hole in the tunnel again but this time...It was literally on Eren's location.

"Eren!!"Armin shouted and went back to help his injured friend while the female titan...

The female titan spotted them and targeted the two figures,guessing it was Eren.She was about to grab onto them when Mikasa revealed herself and attacked her straight on.The female titan grabbed her but in a few moments,Mikas cut her fingers to release herself from it's grip.She repositioned and attacked once again.Realizing the person is not Eren, The female titan goes to the other hooded person.

Rie revealed herself as well and flew around her to confuse her attention.Mikasa was always on the offensive.In the end,she just swung her arm at them like they were flies.Her arm hit a whole roof and the debris was sent flying around her.Mikasa was hit and went down.

"Mikasa!"Rie shouted and glared at Annie.She twirled her blades and swung herself at Annie starting from her ankles.She sliced her ankles in neck-breaking speed.The female titan fell down.Going up,she stabbed both of her eyes.She left the blades stuck in her eyes and reloaded quickly and jumped and aimed at her nape.She swung down on her nape,attempting to open it up but her blades broke by a bluish armor produced by the female titan once again.

Out of the corner of her eye,she sees the movements of the female titan.Her arms about to grab her.She used the bluish armor as platform and jumped away from her grip and landing gracefully on the ground.

"Tch.I lost two spare blades already.Hanji's gonna lecture me again about this."She says as she loaded her last spare and stared at the female titan,covering her nape while her eyes and ankles emit smoke.

The female titan slowly stood up,regenerating faster than expected.Rie would love to barrage her with attacks if only it wasn't her last spare and this titan bitch makes it break easily like a twig.

She spared one glance at Eren whose body is impaled and crushed by the rubble he is under.Armin tries his best to talk to him.The brat's taking his sweet time transforming.

Just before looking back at the female titan, she heard the familiar sound of a 3DMG.Other Survey Corps. made their move on the female titan.

They made a coordinated attack.One sliced her face before passing and caught by a man and swung themselves like acrobats and the next one proceeded to attack but before he can do so,the female titan pulled down the wires of the 3DMG and grabbed the soldier and squashed him in it's hand.

"Fuck! She's familiar with the gear!!" One shouted but immediately regretted it when he is also subjected to a flying kick from the titan itself.

Rie heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes

"Ain't that fucking obvious..She was, after all, a trainee"She huffed and moved away from the rampaging titan.

"I won't let this end easily!"

Mikasa zoomed to the female titan and sliced her left ankle twice making it tumble a bit before regaining it's balance.Mikasa tried to move around her as possible and the female titan tries to defend herself.

"Annie!!" Armin's voice was heard and caught the female titan's attention

"If you can't kill me now,you won't be able to make excuses like "I'll see how my bet pays off"!!"He shouts at her.

Jean took the opportunity to try and slice her hand off but a bluish armor broke his blades again.He backed away and shouted for Armin to follow him.Armin nodded and followed him.

The female titan followed after them and Mikasa and Rie followed after her.What was waiting for her is traps meant to capture her.The same traps they used against her in the previous expedition.

The female titan passed that point and with a signal from Hanji...they fired.

The wires wrapped around the female titan's body preventing her from moving.It tries to pull it but lost her balance and fell.A net was put on her as added measure.

Hanji went down and greeted the female titan in it's face.

"Okay! I didn't think we'd have to resort to plan C..That's Commander Erwin for you!"She says,twirling the trigger of the trap cannons.

"Now then...You're a good girl so stay still"She says as she walks over to the female titan's eye.She pulled out a blade and pointed at her eye.

"In here,You can't call other titans for help but don't worry...I'll take a bite in their place...A bite of information I'm going to get out of you,that is"Hanji's face darkens as she tilted her head in a creepy way

As if it's a trigger sentence,The female titan slid her foot across the ground,sweeping the traps in the process and releasing her from it's grip.

Mikasa,Hanji,Rie and the others managed to get to higher ground before they were hit by her foot.

"She shook it off?!"Mikasa exclaimed

"After her!"Armin shouts seeing the female titan runs away

Mikasa and Rie zoomed past and caught up to the female titan.Mikasa tries to attack her but evaded in time before a deadly giant hand meet her direction.

Rie used this chance to attack from her blind spot and target her ankles to stop her from running.The female titan noticed her and lifted her foot making Rie miss her attack.The female titan proceeded to spin and kick her using her other foot.Rie tries to evade but it still hit her and made her fly away.Rie tries to slow herself down using her sword at the roof for friction.She tries to land albeit clumsily which leads her to lose her balance.

Mikasa was moving about around the female titan trying to get a good offense but the titan is moving fast.Although having multiple Survey Corps. soldiers attacking her,The female titan defends itself perfectly.While moving around her,Mikasa failed to move away from the giant hand and unfortunately is hit and Mikasa fell to the ground

"Rie! Mikasa!"Armin shouts

Then a clap of thunder sounded.

Footsteps that shook the earth followed

and a familiar war cry is heard

"Took him long enough"

 **Hello guysss!! Sorry for the slow update again! You already know why and I won't annoy you with mentioning it again but I hope you still follow this story**

 **Right now,it seems I'm following the canon storyline but sooner It'll sort of branch off of it**

 **SO PLEASE CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THIS STORY AND THANK AGAIN FOR READING IT!!**

p.s. I've also read some very helpful reviews!! I want to say thank you and I will do my best!!


	19. Chapter 15: Victory?

The what was once a peaceful and quiet place,is filled with loud and fear-inducing war cries as two 15-meter titans roamed Wall Sina in their own battle against each other.The town watches the two fighting titans as homes and structures fell in destruction and those who are innocent dies.

Nevertheless,It was a battle for the sake of humanity...per Erwin says. It is for the future of mankind. To capture this Shifter, Annie Leonhart, and attain information, is the mission that we must complete for humanity

"...But really. Who cares about that crap.Capture her and Get her to talk.That's it.No need for that "for humanity" shit..Not like anyone does it for them"

Rie mumbles to herself as she watched the two titans locked in their own battle..or rather their own staring battle.

Right now, Eren has transformed and the Female titan moved to an open place,free from any surrounding buildings preventing the soldiers to get any closer..meaning it's all up to Eren now.

Rie could shoot from afar but she doubt Eren could dodge a tiny bullet when he is engrossed in fighting against the female titan,especially since he's reckless and attacks viciously.

In the next moment, Eren roared and lunged at the female titan.He threw a punch at her but the female titan blocked it with her elbow which created some kind of armor again.She then proceeded to kick him but Eren grabbed her leg and threw her to the side.The female titan crashed to the buildings.Eren seized the chance to attack her but the female titan reacted fast and dodged his attack and runs away.

The Survey Corps. soldiers followed after her so as Eren.They confronted once again at a new area.Eren runs to her and threw a punch but before it could connect, The female titan produced the bluish armor once again and this time on her leg and aimed it at Eren's leg, dismembering it.Before falling,Eren forced his body to turn around and threw a fist at her.The female titan drew back from his punch but regained her composure.

Eren then lunged at her but the female titan aimed at his face and merely kicked him to the side,crashing his titan form on the building.She tries to pull her leg back but found that Eren is biting it,refusing to let go.The female titan tries to punch him and again and again but Eren refused to budge.

She grows desperate as she screams and smashes Eren with all the strength she has.Finally,Her leg has been freed.She stares at Eren's destroyed face for a moment and leaves.

Then the most strangest thing happened to Eren

"What..in the actual fuck?"Rie muttered.No one is able to know what is happening to Eren.

He springed back into action as if his face isn't damaged but what's different is ..he is burning?..or rather flames are forming from his titan form and to top it all of, His form turned black.

"ROOOOAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHRRR" Eren roars and chased after the female titan.He lunges at her and crushing her underneath him.

The female titan was already protecting it's nape.She pushed Eren away from her back and tries to stand up but Eren grabs her face and squeezes until one of her eyes pop out and huge amounts of blood sprayed everywhere.

The female titan let out a horrific scream expressing her pain.She quickly elbows Eren and flipped herself to face him and kicked him to the other side.She used this chance to climb up the wall and get to the other side.Eren suddenly was grabbing her legs.He gnawed at it but the female titan kicked him letting her leg be dismembered and hurriedly climb the wall.

"She's trying to escape!!"Hanji shouts.

"Not if I can help it"Rie says as she and Mikasa flew to the female titan.With them on each of the female titan's sides, They both sliced her fingers.The female titan fell to the ground and Eren attacks her.Eren bit on her nape and rips it apart,showing Annie inside but...for some reason, Eren stopped what he was doing.

He stared at Annie for a long time the others wondered what happened but that's when a bright light suddenly lit up from them.Eren's hands which is connected to the female titan is suddenly fusing and formed a crystal-like barrier around Annie.

"Eren!" Just as Mikasa was about to help Eren,Levi came to the scene and cut off Eren's body from his titan.

"Don't eat an important witness,you idiot"

Mikasa,Armin and Rie tended to Eren while he's still unconscious.His face left marks of being in titan form.

"Shit! Can't get even a dent on this thing!" Jean repeatedly stabs the crystal where Annie is contained but not even a scratch can be made on it.

"Stop it.It's not the time for that.Tie up this crystal using the wires.We need to get it underground.She might wake up any moment and we'll be screwed if she does!"Hanji orders them and they quickly do as they're told

Mikasa stared at the wall with a shocked expression.Rie noticed this and glanced a look at where she was staring and is similarly shocked upon finding it.

"There's...a fuckin' titan in the fuckin' walls..You have got to be kidding me"

•••

The crystal containing Annie Leonhart is now moved underground and locked up in a cell.

Rie,Hanji and Levi are currently staring at it.With Annie hiding herself,they have no access to any information she might have.Although this proves that they have allies like her that is also hiding within the walls.Possibly from the same generation of trainees.The 107th.

A soldier barged in, breaking off any thoughts anyone has and said some nice words

"Major Hanji! Corporal Levi! Wall Rose has been breached!"

These titans...don't really give us any kind of break

•••

 **Yeeeeee! Finished this chapter! Sorry if it was a bit short for a long wait!** **There was not much for Rie to do in this part since it was all on Eren and because of that I didn't bother doing the parts that you already know will happen**

 **and FINALLY this arc is done!**

 **Next is you-know-what and I'm planning on speeding things up so don't get confused If I skipped some parts that are already canon in the anime/manga**

 **I don't want to give out spoilers but I'm the type to can't resist giving one soooo I'm only saying that there's a new character to be introduced :DD**


	20. Chapter 16: Capture

"Hm.Annie Leonhart's allies sure do act fast.We just finished with her supposed to be capture and now they already made a breach in Wall Rose"

Rie comments from her seat which is on the edge of the carriage they are on.It was only a while ago where the reports of Wall Rose being breached has reached them and they were ordered to bring Eren to the frontlines and cover the breach the same way he did at Trost.The problem is...Eren is still recovering from his fight with the female titan and they are so far from the Wall which it will take a while to get there.Additionally, there is also a new guest coming with them.

"So why do we have a priest with us?Don't tell me you got religious from all this and turned to the gods for help" Rie glanced a bored look at the 'guest' but he did not express any kind of emotion and only kept a straight face.

"Haha.Not really, Rie.We're friends with Nick now,you see!"Hanji laughed and pointed at the priest beside her

"He knew about the titans in the Wall but till now...he has been keeping silent about that amazing fact! I have no idea why but he seems adamant about keeping his mouth tightly shut about anything that concerns about the secrets of the Wall even if he dies for it."Hanji finishes it while keeping her smile.

"What the hell??!!"Eren stood up abruptly and leaned forward a little closer to Nick which caused his body to feel pain.

"Stay put! The after-effects of your transformation aren't gone yet!"Mikasa scolds him and pulled him back to his seat.

"I was going to ask his sect.members but he chose to come out of his own will. The situation has changed,so it seems after he has witnessed all that happened,he's having doubts if he should still follow the rules so he wants to see the real state of affairs with his own eyes"Hanji explains to them and a moment of silence lingered.

"...but that's just weird,you know?! If you know something,please just tell us!! What can be more important than preventing the total annihilation of humanity?!"Eren speaks out

"I wonder about that...The pastor looks like an honest and upstanding person to me...That's why I think there might be a cause more important than preventing the downfall of humanity..."Hanji stares at Nick as he looks away uncomfortably.

"Well from where I stand,He seems to have guts to me.How about the other sect.members? I doubt they have this kind of willpower.Oh well,There are lots of ways to make a person talk"Levi cuts in and everyone can see the hand pistol hidden in his suit.

"I may be useless in combat right now but I sure as hell am capable in guarding one old man.So why don't you do the both of us a favor and don't do anything that might result in holes in your body."

Levi moved his attention from Nick to Hanji who is busy observing a rock in her hands.

"On a side note Hanji, It's news to me that you have a shady hobby of playing with rocks"He says to her.

"Ah..yeah..well,This is not an ordinary rock.It's a piece of the female titan's hardened skin that was left behind."

"Eh?! It hasn't disintegrated?!" The three exclaimed in surprise

"Nope! Unbelievable but..It didn't evaporate nor it didn't disappear! and I had an epiphany..when I compared this piece to the broken fragments of the wall,the crystal composition and structure turned out to be similar! In other words, the wall is made out of colossal titans that became it's pillars!"Hanji excitedly(but with a serious face) explains to the three

"Just like...Armin said"Mikasa comments

"Ahh..Ahh!! Then-!"Armin was about to say something until Hanji covered his mouth with her hand.

"Allow me the honor to say it,Armin! As it is now, It's difficult to plug Wall Rose since there are no boulders huge enough..but..what if..the transformed Eren could plug the breach using that titan ability to harden their bodies?"

(A/N: Okay I'm skipping the rest of the conversation since it's way too long and you already know what they will say anyway)

Rie half listened to their conversation.While on the trip to the breach in Wall Rose, she entertained herself by looking at the sky.

' _The moon...looks...kind of dim tonight'_ Rie closed her eyes and let the cold wind hit her face,Not realizing she's half asleep.Another memory resurfaces to her mind.

•••

 _'Hm? Rie? What are you doing out here?'_

 _'...What are you looking at?...ahh.You're looking at the moon'_

 _'Want me to tell you something about it? Mom told me that the moon is as amazing as the sun.It gives light through the darkness and guides us when we're lost! It's a symbol of hope she says'_

 _'...so...um..yeah'_

 _'...sad..'_

 _'Hm? what?'_

 _'The moon. It gives light but it's surrounded by darkness.Isn't it sad? He tries to give light but darkness is still around him.'_

 _'...ohh..heh.'_

 _'Hm? What's funny?'_

 _'..nothing...About your question, It's not going to be sad because...look...It's surrounded by bright stars that help it shine even brighter!'_

'... _Okay..'_

 _'..Uhm..yeah..So...uhm..Rie...you see..while we're at this topic...I wanted to say that...I see you as my moon..and uhm...I want to be your star...huh?..Where did she go?'_

Rie slowly opened her eyes and the corners of her lips curved to a small smile.It seems the conversation ended back there and so Levi and Nick are stopping here.

The rest of them continued on and stopped at the point where beyond it is now titan's territory.All of them are preparing their horses.

When all of them are a bit busy, Levi and Nick are returned.Hanji notices them and walked towards them.

"Did you..perhaps had a change of heart?"Hanji asks Nick.He kept silent for a long time which made Hanji impatient.

"There 's no time! Decide if you're going to talk or not!"Hanji shouts at him

"I cannot tell you anything.I also expect the other members will not talk nor change their minds"Nick's words did not satisfy Hanji at all.

"Well,Thank you for wasting our time!"

"..This..this was a grave decision for me.The burden we are saddled is heavy.Our system of ironclad pledge has existed for generations and we can entrust the secrets of the wall to relatives only.None of us can tell you anything...However, we can tell you the name of the person who can reveal those secrets to you"

"Shifting the responsibility to someone else to protect yourselves,huh?"

"...yes"

"5 years ago,that person had been dragged into a strife between her relatives, which caused her to go into hiding under an assumed name.The girl ,herself, does not know anything yet but she has the right to speak about whatever wall secrets are known to her...I heard she joined the scouting legion this year.Her name is..."

"Krista Lenz"

"Huh?Her,of all people?"Eren says,clearly shocked from the information he heard from the priest.

"Go find her.She might even know the truth unknown to even us...only..it is up to her to decide to tell you or not what she knows."

"That girl..If she's in the 104th squad..She's in the frontlines right now!"Hanji exclaimed

"Let's hurry! We need to get to the breached area as soon as possible anyway!"Eren says rushing towards his horse.

"Wait a minute! I still haven't memorized the names of our newbies!"Hanji exclaims again

"It's the most petite girl!"Eren says

"She has long blonde hair and..um" Armin says as he rushes after Eren

"She's the girl who hangs around with Ymir"Mikasa lastly says.The mentioned name surprised Hanji and Levi for a moment.Rie rushes after them as well.

Blonde hair? Petite?...So the girl who seems to be too kind to be true..

•••

"Krista..I have no right to tell you how to live your life...so consider it my wish...Live your life with your head held high."

"Y-YMIR??!!"

•••

Rie and the others were on their way to the Wall when they spotted titans.Lots of them surrounding the Utgard Castle.

 _'I'm sure the newbies was cornered here.'_

Some of the titans were already killed,others assumed it was the Survey Corps. soldiers that was with them.

' _But the titans were ripped apart..something like Eren would do in his titan form'_

Mikasa was the first to head in and save Krista from a titan.

"Mikasa?!"

"Krista..and all of you,stand back. We'll handle this from here"

The Survey Corps soldiers arrived and killed every single titan.Eren also went and head in for the attack and was able to kill one although he was scolded for it.

Rie soared through the sky and observed the number of titans.She swung down on one and killed it on it's spot.She used that titan as a platform to head to another.The titan reached out it's hand and tried to grab her but she spun around it and ran on it's arm,slicing it on the process and spun once again over it's head and sliced it's nape.

Before she could lift herself,An aberrant flew to her and grabbed her using it's mouth.

"Tch" Rie acted fast and sliced it's jaws before it could bit off her lower half.She lifted herself out of it's mouth and climbes it's face to stabbed both of it's eyes.The abberant screamed and used both of it's hands to smash Rie.Rie backflipped away and took out her gun, and shot at it's nape two times before it finally fell.

"Next"

Rie looked behind her to see another set of titans.She smirked as she made her way to them.She flew as high as she could and just like a bird swinging down to catch it's prey,She swung down in neck-breaking speed and sliced the titan in an instant as well as the one crawling on the ground.She hooked herself to one of the ruins of the Utgard castle and pushed her feet on it to make her way to the next one.

She threw her blades at it's eyes,seeing as the blades were already dull.The titan screamed in pain and covered it's eyes.While doing that,Rie went over it's head and swung her newly-loaded blades down at it.

"119...Hm.I haven't killed any titans these past few missions.Good to be raising my solo kills again"

She breathed out a silent tired sigh as she looked at the others already clearing the area from titans.With that already finished, all of them made their way at the top of Wall Rose.

"Ymir...is seriously a titan?"Armin asked,bewildered by that fact.

"What's her condition?"Eren asks a soldier

"Well,her right arm and leg are bitten off and her insides are more like scrambled eggs than anything"

Rie left Eren to help his teammate,Reiner, If she remembered right, and went to Hanji who Krista is speaking to right now.Something about Ymir being an ally of humanity.

She mentioned about her real name being Historia Reiss,as in the famous noble.Hanji left that matter for now and ordered to have Ymir treated.

"Now,originally we came her to plug the breach in the wall. I expected to see hordes of titans around the breach..but-...Hm?"Hanji notices a soldier coming towards them and a familiar face to Rie,Mikasa,Armin and Eren

"Hannes-san?"

"It's the vanguard of the stationary troops.They came to tell us of the location of the breach"Hanji explains

"There is no breach anywhere"Hannes says as he struggles to climb up the Wall before Eren helped him up.

"We've been searching all night and I can guarantee you there is no abnormalities in the Wall.We met up with the soldiers dispatched from the Chlorba district and double-checked.We retraced each other's path.Also,we haven't even encountered a single titan."

"But we've seen titans here inside the wall,no doubt about that"Armin told him

"Are you sure you searched the wall thoroughly?! Maybe you're still drunk or something?" Eren says next

"As If I drink in a situation like this! and come to think of it, why are you guys even here?"Hannes asks them but no reply was given.

"Hmm...With no breach in the wall,then we have no choice but to call the operation off.For now, we'll standby at Trost District"Hanji told the soldiers who retreated with tiredness clearly shown in their faces.

"Eren...we need to talk to you"Reiner and Bertholdt suddenly was behind them.

Armin,Mikasa and Rie begin to follow the soldiers if only the two girls didn't hear their conversation.

"I'm the armored titan and he's the colossal titan."Reiner says,pointing at himself and to Bertholdt.

"H-huh?! What are you guys even saying?!"Eren asks them,disbelief evident in his tone.

"W-what are you saying all of a sudden,Reiner?!"Bertholdt seems to think his friend has lost his mind.

"Our objective was to wipe out all humans within the wall...but there's no need anymore"Reiner continues,ignoring the comments from the two.

"Eren, If you come with us, We'll never touch the wall ever again.You get my drift,right?...So is it a deal?"

"Hmmmmn...Look...You're just tired,Reiner...Right,Bertholdt? You just went through hell and got a little delirious"Eren says as he patted his shoulder.

"T-that's right! You're simply too tired, Reiner!"

"Besides, If you were really the armored titan, why would you have this talk with me? You can't just expect me to simply agree and meekly follow you even if you ask,right?"Eren explains to them.

Reiner looked shocked at what he said.As if he woke up from his words.He looked at the side and nodded in agreement

"That's right...What..was I thinking?...Have I really gone mad?"

"Let's go back to the town for now-"Eren cuts his sentence off when he noticed Reiner removing his bandages

"I don't know what's right or wrong anymore but what I do know is that no matter the consequences of my actions brought about,... **I will do my duty as a warrior till the bitter end** " Reiner shows off his wounded arm,smoke coming out from it.Indicating the familar sign of being a titan shifter.

"Reiner!! You're going to do it?! Right here, right now?!!"Bertholdt shouts at him,asking for a confirmation.

"Yeah!We'll settle this here and now!!"Reiner marched towards Eren but before any action was taken, an impending blade swung fast at him aiming for his neck

Mikasa was only able to slice his hand which Reiner used as protection from the blade.Rie reached for bertholdt and was about to decapitate his head off but can only make a small slice before being kicked far by Reiner.She grabbed his foot and pulled him along with her.Rie fell off the wall but was able to hang on to the edge.Reiner was laid down on the other side.

Mikasa then immediately raised her blade at bertholdt

"EREN!!! RUN!!!"

As she was about to kill Bertholdt off, She was pushed off the wall by Reiner who came charging at her with his body

"Bertholdt!!"

"Eren!! Run!!!"

Reiner and Bertholdt stood up side by side.Slowly ,a familar light surrounds them.A lightning strike and the two feared titans emerged. The one who caused the fall of Wall Maria

The Colossal titan and the Armored titan.

The other soldiers were blown away.The armored titan grabbed Eren tightly and made his way down.The colossal titan,whose form is unfinished, grabbed Ymir,much to the shock of Historia.

"Eren!!"

"YOU!!!.. FUCKING TRAITORS!!"Eren shouts as he bites his hand furiously and transforms into his titan and fights against the armored titan.

Rie followed Mikasa, who was hooked in the wall,watching the fight of Eren and the Armored titan.

"Men!!! Get away from the wall!!!"Hanji's voice was heard and soldiers all evacuated the wall.Rie looked up to see the Colossal Titan.It's ribs is stuck in the wall,leaving his form to show his upper half.Like swatting a fly, He brought down his hand at the wall where the soldiers used to be.

"Ymir got caught!!" Historia shouts at them

"He caught another one!!"Connie told them as they see the Colossal titan's hands are occupied by Ymir who is still unconscious and a Survey Corps soldier who probably died from the titan's previous strike.With both of them in hand, He popped them inside his mouth.

"He ate them!!"

"Men! Prepare for battle,Our enemy is the Colossal Titan!!Charge all at once!"Hanji orders and the soldiers all charged at it

Rie looks at the soldiers attacking the Colossal Titan.Seems like the whole Survey Corps's target is that.She looked at Mikasa and Mikasa,as well, looked at her.

"They're fightin' over there..but we probably should help Eren.Guy's getting beat up"Rie says as she observed their fight.

Eren punches Reiner with all his strength but proves useless against it's armor.While Reiner, with his armor, is able to punch Eren ten times stronger which would make Eren fly back a few meters away.

Though Rie and Mikasa could help, It's not a good idea to join in a fight with two vicious giants.Much like his fight with the female titan, One might accidentally hurt his comrade or the opponent can use the other teammate as a hostage or even can kill it on the spot.

and Rie wouldn't like the idea of dying from getting punched by a titan either from the Armored titan or from Eren.

"...but we should check any weaknesses before trying anything"Rie says to Mikasa who only nodded.

CRASH *

The two looked at the source of the sound. Eren was once again laid on the ground.His nose is no longer existing and huge amounts of smoke keeps coming out of it, showing how heavily damaged it is.Reiner approaches him but Mikasa used this chance to see if she could really cut through his nape.

She swung from the side and in a quick motion, aimed her blades at the armored titan's nape and tries to cut through it.

Unfortunately,Her blade broke and she flew away.Reiner didn't seem to mind it.Even ignoring the attack she made.Mikasa made her way back to Rie

"Nothing works on him.Eren's punches is not affecting him either" Mikasa told Rie.

"Unlike the female titan whose armor can only be used at certain parts of her body, this guy is covered in it.Our blades are really useless then."Rie comments and continues to watch the fight.

Eren stood up and punches him once again but as expected,it didn't affect him in the slightest. The Armored titan returned his punch to him and Eren took a few steps back once again.

"Eren! Stop already! Can't you see it's getting nowhere?!"Rie shouts at him but the guy must have been too occupied with rage that he didn't hear her or maybe he chise to ignore her.

"Eren! Retreat to the wall!!" Armin shouts at him but once again, he didn't seem to hear.

"He's going berserk again!!" Hanji shouts

Eren stood up once more to face the armored titan again.The armored titan first punched but instead of getting hit, Eren ducked down below it and locked his arms around his head and pushed the armored titan to the ground.

"He managed to throw the armored titan!!"

"This is...one of Annie's moves!!"Armin mentions.

The armored titan,gaining control,flipped the positions but Eren used his legs to lock on his head and pull his arm

and he kept pulling

and finally, he succesfully removed it from the armored titan.

"H-He did it!"

"Eren! Can you hear me? You must escape! For now,Head to the wall!!" Armin shouts at Eren.Eren,seems like he heard him, looks at his way.

"Reiner is trying to capture you! They have yet to succeed! We can't let that happen!" Eren, understanding what he means, backed away from Reiner and retreated close to the wall.

Hanji flew over to Eren's shoulder.Eren turns to her,awaiting her orders.

"Listen to me,Eren. For you to escape, we need to stop Reiner from moving and buy you enough time.Do you think you can use that lock move on him again and break his legs? Our blades are useless against him but with our brains, I'm sure we can figure out a way under the circumstances" Hanji explains and with that, Eren nodded expressing his agreement.Hanji stares at him,her face filled with awe.

"Hey Hanji, let's go" Rie almost snickered at the face Hanji had for a moment there.She knew the reason why she's like that.She IS the Titan-obsessed woman..

Eren, with the plan in mind, prepared to fight the Armored titan.He was ready but it was unexpected that the Armored titan suddenly zoomed to him.Eren was caught off guard by his speed and was crashed against the wall by the Armored titan.

Regaining control, Eren ducked under the Armored titan's arms and locked his legs on the Armored titan's thigh.

The Armored titan knows what he is trying to do and raised it's fist to Eren.

"Eren! Get up!"

Eren was able to get up but the Armored titan is once again about to tackle him.

"This looks bad"

"Dammit! Why is the Armored titan moving so fast all of a sudden?!"

"...No, wait.. With his whole body covered in hard skin..He should be stiff as a statue. He shouldn't be able to move like that.." Hanji says her observation

"...Aren't armors used in war long ago have some parts that isn't covered in metal due to human body structure...like the armpits, crotch..and the back of the knees?...Care to try?" Rie said to her and raised her blades implying her intention.

The Armored titan tackled Eren. Eren received it but he is still keen on fighting back.He wrapped his legs around his torso and crushed him with all his might.

Then Mikasa swooped in and sliced the back of the Armored titan's knees. As Rie said, It indeed cut through.

The Armored titan fell down but crawled and pushed Eren.Every soldier thought that it was Eren's victory until...

"...He stopped crawling...and their current location is.." Armin wonders and looks up.

Then a roar escaped from the Armored titan's mouth

"Check for any titan in the vicinity!!"

"No titans spotted!"

"ABOVE YOUUU!!!"

A shout echoed and when everyone looked.The Colossal titan was falling straight to where Eren is.

"EREN!!" Rie shouted.

The Colossal Titan has already crashed to the ground.His heat created smoke everywhere.

' _Shit..Can't see a thing..!'_ Rie is hooked to a nearby branch so the heat waves isn't sending her flying.She tries to keep her eyes open but the heat and the wind is making it hard for her to do so.

When she finally cracked an eye open, A giant fleshy hand came into her view.It grabbed her whole body and almost crushed her bones.

If the heat wave isn't affecting her much earlier, now she can feel it burning through her skin.Try as she might to keep her eyes open, her consciousness slipped away.

 _'...So...h o t...'_

 _ **Wheee~**_

 _ **I'm sorry.**_

 _ **It took so long for me to update AGAIN T-T**_

 _ **Well, It's Christmas so uhm**_

 _ **MERRY CHRISTMAS!!**_

 _ **Sooo, Idk if I'd be able to update next month since I want to enjoy the break I have and it's because the School Year is nearing it's end and I know next month will be filled with projects and requirements T-T**_

 _ **so yeaaah, GL to me.**_

 _ **Oh and I want to tell u guys that this is the part where it starts branching off a little to the canon story.It will S L O W L Y be branching off.**_

 _ **So I hope u will still continue to read my story**_

 _ **THANK YOU!**_


	21. Chapter 17: Rescue

"...rest here...Be a while...they catch up"

The soft voices reached Rie's ears as she regains consciousness.She felt herself being carried and then being put down in a rough surface

 _'..a branch..?'_ Rie deduced

After being fully conscious, Rie opens her eyes to see Bertholdt and Reiner standing atop a branch across from hers

Recalling the events before she lost her consciousness,she remained calm and scanned her surroundings.

She first looked at herself.Her clothes are a bit burnt but the important parts are still covered. Despite being grabbed a giant burning hot hand, her skin is still there.

She noticed she can't move her arms nor her legs.She is tied up.

Next she scanned the area around her,making little to no sound of her being awake to not alert her two capturers.

They're inside the forest. It's the forest of Giant trees.The other branch behind Berthodlt and Reiner, is Eren and Ymir.Both are still unconscious.Their arms and legs had been cut.

' _They're wounded.They can just transform right? Even if you cut their arms and legs, they can just transform once their legs are healed and run back to the Wall'._ She looked below and retracted her initial thought.

 _'Never mind.There are titans below...Who knows if they can escape with this many.Not to mention,they're healing. I don't know if that affects their titan form.If they only have their legs to run, how can they defend themselves?_

 _...I also don't have my gun.It was strapped to my back..Did they dispose of it? So that I have no means of defending myself in titan-infested territory if I did escape._

 _Now, the real question is..why did they capture me?'_ She glanced at the two who is currently resting.The sun's still out but it will probably set anytime soon.

 _'Are they going to continue to run once the sun sets?..Of course, titans don't move around much at night.This is also an opportunity for us to escape but as I said, Both of them might not be able to transform with the condition they're in.Reiner and Bertholdt also has 3DMG'_

"Hey." Rie's voice caught their attention.

"Mind telling me...Why'd you capture me as well? As far as I know, I do not transform into a titan. I'm just a human."

Silence answered her question.The two only stared at her,not willing to speak. Though, Bertholdt is the only one who looks at her funny as if there is something uncomfortable he found out about her.

"You...who are you?...That time! When I grabbed you, my hand is emitting steam..and the spot in my hand where you laid,slowly disappears..It's like...I'm not allowed to touch you...Just who are you?" Berthodlt spoke out.His face is confused mixed with a bit of fear.

"...So you do talk although...that didn't answer my question" Rie remains calm. She looks at them as if they do not hold any threat to her.

"...We don't know. The one who asked to take you back with us is Annie. She never said why but recovering you is just as important as our mission in recovering Eren.Maybe even more,she says..So I'll repeat Bert's question.. Who are you?" Reiner explains to Rie.He didn't mind her stare at them.

"So you admit Annie Leonhart is an accomplice of yours"

"You'll know it sooner or later when we take you back anyways..as soon as we get in contact with her"

 _'She's looking for you'_ Rie recalls Annie's words to her.The girl she is talking about. Rie doubt the two men knows who the girl is.

...Maybe it's better for her to go back with them and find out this girl's identity.

"...maybe it really is her" Rie mutters

The two looked at her in confusion

"Hey!..Well??"

Rie returns her attention to the two and looks at them with deadpan eyes

"..Didn't catch it before? I'm Rie Vricht..Captain Rie for you but..guess you don't need to call me that since you two are not soldiers anymore"She looks at the side clearly being carefree

"That's not what we meant! Who are you? Why did Annie told us to take you back to our hometown? She said you are just as important as our mission.Failing to get you means we fail being warriors!"Reiner shouts out

"...How should I know? Why don't you ask Leonhart?"

Rie glanced a look at them.Based on their uncomfortable and silent expressions, They still haven't known that Leonhart is locked up.They were not told of the mission that day and Annie didn't expect that we were suspicious of her so there was no way of informing them.

"...We'll ask her once we get in contact with her.For now, we'll wait until sunset then we'll continue"

"Then It'll be a while"Rie says,looking at the open grass field.

While waiting for countless hours,Ymir already woke up,asked some questions but Reiner told her to wait until Eren wakes up too.

After some time,Eren wakes up as well.Much different from Rie,He woke up in a panic realizing his whereabouts and his current state of being armless and legless

(Skipping the conversation between Reiner,Bertholdt,Ymir and Eren)

Throughout the whole ordeal, Rie silently listened.

Then Berthodlt saw the familiar flares of the Survey Corps.

"Reiner!" He called out

"Our opponents are persistent" He says as he uses the gear to go over to Eren.Eren notices this and panics.

"Wh-What is up,Reiner? It's not night yet..."Eren backs away from him.

"It's fine. We're leaving.Don't put up any resistance,alright?"

"...Hey.No need to act so violent.I'm in this condition after all" Reiner lets his guard down for a moment and Eren seized this chance to punch him using his stub.

They fought for a while and Eren seemed to exhaust himself and fell in a deep sleep.Reiner proceeded to tie him on his back.Bertholdt went to get Rie.Reiner and Bertholdt used the gears to escape through the forest

"My titan is slow-footed.If we got surrounded, I won't be able to protect you guys" Reiner said

"Then why didn't we wait until nighttime?!" Ymir's voice boomed.It seems that Ymir noticed the flares since she went quiet.

"No way...It can't be...No.It's her...REINER!! IT'S KRISTA! If you're going to take her, now is the time!"Ymir suddenly shouted once again

"How would you know?! You couldn't have seen her!" Reiner shouts back

"I know! She's a good person,to idiotic extremes! She came to save me!"

"Even if that's the case, It's impossible now! We'll wait for another opportunity!Wait for your chance!"

"Like after I'm devoured by your warriors?! No way! I don't trust you!"

Rie's ears perked up. _'devoured_ '

"Trust us! We need Krista as well!"

"Then do it now! Prove it to me! I want to see her.Right now..." Rie can hear the pain in Ymir's voice.

"I'm sorry Ymir" Bertholdt told her

Then Rie felt Bertholdt shake since she is being carried by him

"Ymir! Stop it! We'll fall"He says

"I know the geography here the best.Don't you think I'm the one in charge? I can turn into a titan and it might not be as strong as yours but I can move quickly.

I can even take Eren and Rie from you guys and go back to the Survey Corps.If you don't take Krista right now, I will get in your way"Ymir threatens them

"Don't get angry.I have a plan.I'll fight as well so it'll be easier to fight...OR SHOULD WE KILL EACH OTHER INSTEAD?!!"

•••

In the end,they went with Ymir's plan.Reiner and Bertholdt were waiting for Ymir on a branch near to the exit of the forest.

Rie is still at the side,tied up.

"Wow, the tide turns so fast.You were the capturers but you were threatened by the captured" Rie spoke after a moment of silence and as usual they did not give any reply to her.

"Hey. Remove these things,will ya?" Rie looks at them with a dead serious stare.

"So you can escape and go back to the Survey Corps? Come on, Captain, we're not dumb"Reiner answers her

"Ahh really?" Her voice having a tint of sarcasm "Anyway, What I mean is...I decided I'll go to your hometown whatever. You won't find me escaping anytime soon."

"Sorry,Captain, but we do not trust that you will do that.After all, Eren is special to you.You would never let him go with us"

"First of all, stop saying Eren is special to me.Sounds gross.Second, If you free me, I'll show you I'm willing to come with you and help you fight them."

Both men stared at her.

"Sorry,Captain" Bertholdt says just before Ymir comes to their view.

Reiner prepares to wound himself and transform.

"Hm.Your loss."

Ymir arrived and clinged to the armored titan's shoulder and on the other is Bertholdt with Eren on his back and Rie on his side

The Survey Corps. emerged from the forest with a pack of titans just right behind them.

' _Damn.Of course Erwin would come up with that idea'_

Rie hears the conversation between Krista and Ymir but she doesn't care enough to pay attention to it.

Rie sensed that Eren is shuffling,concluding he has woken.A Survey Corps soldier managed to get close but not before Ymir's titan grabbed it's wire and tossed him,hitting the ground on his back giving him instant death.

Mikasa swooped in and managed to slice Ymir's eye.Her eyes moved to Bertholdt who held Rie and Eren.She hooked herself to the Armored Titan's shoulder and swung at Bertholdt

Berthodlt,knowing he is the target, runs to the Armored Titan's neck.

"Reiner!! Protect us!!" He shouts and the Armored Titan hurriedly covered it's neck with both of it's hands,protecting Bertholdt.Mikasa's blade snapped upon meeting the armor. She was forced to back away when Ymir tried to hit her.

"As I thought, First, I have to kill Ymir!!"Mikasa decided but before she can attack , she was stopped by Krista.

"Wait!! Mikasa!"

Mikasa tumbles over Krista and landed on the back of the armored titan's head.

While they are fighting, the others have gathered on Reiner's hand.Mikasa goes there and pleads.

"Berthodlt!! Give them back!"

Rie hears Mikasa but she closes her eyes and says nothing.She had already decided to go with them and that means leaving them all.

"It's a lie,right?! Were you fooling us all along?!...That's cruel" Connie asks

"Bertholdt, it was so artistic,how terrible you look when you sleep.We would look forward to your next masterpiece every morning and guess the weather on that day...but...you sure do slept soundly...considering you were the perpetrator..."

' _Right...They're the ones who destroyed Wall Maria...They're the ones responsible...for...Angelica's death'_ Rie slowly opens her eyes.She looked at the guilt-ridden face of Bertholdt.

 _'There's something I can do'_ Rie quietly and carefully fiddles with something on her waist.She carefully slips out her knife,looking at Berthodlt from time to time. Using her fingers, she moved the knife up and down to cut the rope that bounds her wrists together.

"Who do you think is okay with all of this?!!"

She got surprised from Bertholdt's outburst but nonetheless continued cutting the rope.

"GET AWAY FROM THERE, YOU GUYS!! Erwin, He's leading the titans here!!"

Rie finally cuts the rope from her wrists.All that's left is the rope on her feet but there's no other way to cut it without alerting the guy who is holding her like a sack.

Rie felt an earthquake or rather a hundred giant footsteps parading around them.

' _Truly Erwin's idea.'_

"CHARGE!!!" She hears his voice.

Upon the darkness, she sees the light.By light,she means the sun.Reiner released his protective hands from Bertholdt and used to fend off the titans around them

Rie's eyes widen at the amount of titans surrounding them...but there is no time to gawk.She should act now.

Her eyes wandered to the Survey Corps.Her eyes widen once more when she saw Erwin being dragged by a titan from his arm

"ADVANCE!!"He commanded and they obeyed

Mikasa was the first to reach them.She hooked on the Armored Titan and swooped in to kill Bertholdt but he hurriedly evaded her attack.

Mikasa missed and she flew into the hands of a titan.It crushed her body and she screams in pain.

"Aah!!"

"Mikasa!!!" Rie shouts in panic

"Let go of her!!" Jean appears and stabbed both of the titan's eyes out

Rie glares at Bertholdt and helds her knife tightly,ready to attack.

Two soldiers appears and targets Bertholdt but their wires is hit by the Armored Titan's hand.

"We've come this far! We're taking them back to our hometown!"

"Is that so?"

Bertholdt stiffened at the hand on his shoulder.Then he felt the heavy weight and Rie moved quickly.

Rie ,with her knife, stabbed Bertholdt on his chest and dragged it down to his waist,cutting the cloth that tied him and Eren.

Eren fell and Mikasa managed to catch him before any titan does.She waited for Rie but her words stunned her.

"RETREAT!!!!All of you,Retreat!!!"She shouts loud enough for all of them to hear her.

Some of them still stunned on what she said but Rie looked Erwin who is back on his horse and a nod was given.

"All units,Retreat!!"Erwin commanded and some hesitantly followed.

"Commander!! What about Rie?!" Mikasa asks

"She wants us to retreat.I'm sure she did that so none of us have any more losses than we already have"

"But-"

"I trust that she wouldn't get herself killed" Erwin cuts her off.He remembers her words from before

 _You'll die first before me.I'll make sure of that'_

He takes one last look at Rie who is hanging on to Bertholdt before the sight gets covered by a bunch of titans.He looked forward once more.

Then a titan crashed infront of them.

"That Reiner...He's throwing titans at us!" Jean said pissed

Rie is still hanging onto Bertholdt but the sudden movement of the armored titan forced her to let go and drop her knife.

She managed to grabbed Bertholdt's foot but the bad news is she is within the reach of the titans.Her feet are still bound and she dropped her knife.

' _Great fucking day!'_

Bertholdt keeps swinging and since she is also holding on to him,she is being swung quite forcefully.The Armored titan is throwing titans.

Her hands slipped and she fell.

On her way down, she hit some titans but not one managed to catch her at least.Her head is hurting and she feels tired.She was ready to meet the ground in incredible pain.

But before that could happen, a pair of arms grabbed her and carried her.The person rode on a horse and they ride away from the commotion and finally Rie closed her eyes and lost consciousness.

•••

"What do you mean she's not here?" Levi asks the three childhood friends when they went back.

He notices the usual White-haired woman is not with them though at first he brushed it off as nothing since she tends to wander off somewhere else.

But after a few minutes of resting, he decided to ask her three friends.Upon asked,They all looked down unable to answer.Only Armin responded that Rie is not here.

"...Rie was not with us when we came back.She...freed Eren so that we can get him but once we got him, She told us to retreat."Armin answers him once more.

"And so you did left her behind?" Levi asks as he grows irritated at the actions of the said missing woman

"We didn't want to! But Commander Erwin ordered us to do so and to trust in Rie"Mikasa answers him.She is worried for Rie.She does trust Rie but it doesn't change the fact that she is deathly worried of her.

If this was Eren, she would never leave him behind in the first place no matter what he says but Rie is their Captain and she is skilled and knows how to survive.Ever since they were kids, Rie didn't need help and can do things on her own.She trusts Rie to be alive.

"Get my horse ready. I'm going to conduct a search mission" Levi orders a nearby soldier who saluted and went off to get his horse

"Corporal!! Your leg is still healing!" A soldier exclaimed but Levi didn't care

"I'll go with you!" Mikasa exclaims

"Not you too! You just got your ribs broken!"

"I'm fine"

"I'll go too" Eren said

"No.You just got back from being captured and you want to go outside to give them another chance in taking you? Even Rie wouldn't like that. You will stay here" Levi glared at him.

Eren shuts up and thought to himself.He is right,Rie wouldn't want that and he could just imagine what she's going to say

 _"Dumbass.I just fucking saved you and risked my life just so you could go back to the Walls and here you are being the dumb fuck you are_... _What?..You were worried for me?...(punch or a kick ,Eren doesn't know either)...Are you saying you don't believe I can survive? Huhhh?? Are you underestimating me again??_

Yeah.She'll probably say those.

"I'll go.Mikasa, you can stay"Armin raises his hand

"I said I'm fine"Mikasa says as she is determined to go

"We're not wasting anymore time until you decide who's going with who.We're just searching for one troublesome brat,not looking for a fight with a titan.Let's go"

Levi rides on his horse and Armin and Mikasa followed

•••

 **and yeaaaahhh I'ts been 4months sorryyy**

 **Graduation happened andd then it's summerrr**

 **though I'll probably be busy this time as well :((**

 **I'm improving my drawing skills as much as I can since I love art and decided to pursue it as a career.**

 **Writing is just a hobby for me so i'm sorry for not being a great writer.**

 **anyway enough about me,**

 **So after this chapter, It will branch off from the canon story and finally to Rie's own story**

 **also Sorry if there might be details that are missing or there are loopholes. I'm not a great writer, I just want tell a story :0**

 **also also when i started this story, I didn't want any ships with Rie that I would do.There are moments but it does not go any further than that**

 **Not that I don't like Romance but I remember reading a story I like but the canon couple is not something I like**

 **Of course, I respect the author's wishes with anything to do with her characters and I still read the story cuz its good but you just have this uncomfortable feeling while reading it**

 **So I didn't bother putting ships in my story**

 **Why am I saying this? Hoho, I'm sure it's pretty obvious.I guess I'm changing my mind.**

 **But it's not too much Romance that it blocks the plot of the story (you know like how the romance is kind of pointless and doesn't contribute to the character nor to the plot)**

 **Also also also I don't like "sudden love" (like literally nothing happened then they just suddenly fell in love)**

 **I'd like things to be slow.Give em a moment. and etc**

 **so um yeah :DD**

 **hint: there are 5 of them**

 **hint hint: they are _now_ shown in the story**

 **hint hint hint: all of them already had a moment with Rie and is shown in the story**

 **hint (4x): Out of 5 of them, 1 Rie already loves**

 **hint (last one I swear): Rie is bisexual (I mentioned this in one of my arts of her)**


End file.
